2012 Recap!

I've been so excited to do this post but I knew it was going to be A LOT of work (which is why I got a big head start on it!).*  I'm going to go month-by-month from the whole year and share fun and exciting things that happened throughout 2012. When I told Abby I was doing this, her immediate response was, "I better be on there!!!!" haha.  Hope you're happy to find yourself in some pictures, sissy :)

*Even though I got a big head start yesterday, I should've started DAYS ago! Well, had I known I was going to change my mind with what I was doing as I started this blog post!!  I was just going to post a picture or two for each thing, but then I got this marrrrvelous idea to do a photo collage for each one instead.
Wow Mallory.  Did you really think that was as easy as it sounds? Not.  Four hours later, I'm now posting this blog...

Christmas Parades

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is the parade day in Varina!!

It starts off with a parade down the road in the early afternoon, and ends with a boat parade in the evening! You'll see some pictures below of the regular parade, but I didn't take any pictures of the boat parade (I would never have been close enough to get good shots, plus, by that time, I was too cold to have my camera out! haha). However, to give you an idea, later that night, everyone lines up on the river and waits for the boats to come by.  People decorate their boats in TONS of Christmas lights, and they drive by for everyone to see.  Some get a lot more into it than others, but they're all still fun to see!

This year, we hung out at the parades with the Noltes and the Burkes! Luckily, we couldn't have asked for better weather for the day!!

Santaland!

I cannot believe Christmas has come and gone already!! It seemed like the month of November just FLEW by. Then, the days of December, well, I took those one by one as they came.  Suddenly, on December 23rd, I said to Matt, "TOMORROW IS CHRISTMAS EVE BRUNCH." Although my words were in all caps, there was no exclamation point. I was just kind of in disbelief that it was already the day before Christmas Eve.

I'll go into further details about Christmas Eve and Christmas Day themselves on Friday, because today I want to talk about something that has been a HUGE part of my life for the past month.

I have come to call myself a professional job searcher.  I can fill out an online application faster than ever and my resume has been changed/edited a billion times it feels like.  When looking for jobs, there are always a few sites that I check religiously.  One time, in October I believe, I got to one of the sites and just stared at my computer screen.  There it was. An advertisement for a job that was made for people JUST LIKE ME. It was working at Legendary Santa!!

25 Days of Christmas: Day 25

I can't believe it.  The last post of my FOURTH 25 Days of Christmas blog posts! While there were a few days where I got the posts up later than I would've liked, I enjoyed posting these! And, actually, 95% of them were already planned out....starting back in October, believe it or not! (No, I don't like to plan ahead or anything like that...)

I kind of feel like everyone and their second cousin's best friend should have seen this move at least once in their life.  However, I have not. Hahaha. I've seen most of the movie, but I've never sat down and watched it completely from start to finish.  And, before you ask, YES, I'm aware that every year on December 25th it's on

25 Days of Christmas: Day 24

I had to leave this great movie for Christmas Eve, because I'm certain that starting on Christmas Eve next year, mine & Matt's Christmases will be similar to this movie! In Four Christmases, the characters played by Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn aren't planning on celebrating Christmas and instead are planning a vacation.  When their flights are canceled, they're caught in the act and end up going to four different Christmas celebrations on December 25th. Since 2007, Matt and I have already been going to a lot of different family Christmas celebrations and traditions, so we're kind of already used to it.  But, next year will definitely be different.  (And there are still things that even this year we won't be doing together. Crazy.) Abby already asked me last Christmas if Matt and I were going to come over here (my house...if you weren't aware of where I am right now. haha) on Christmas morning once we're married, so Abby doesn't have to open her presents alone :( Sad.

25 Days of Christmas: Day 23

Today has to be one of the GOOFIEST posts!

When we were little, we used to always check out the SAME Christmas movie from the library every year. We didn't like to branch out--we knew what we liked, so why get something different? Years went by and the tradition seemed to end, until Abby's birthday one year.  I found the DVD of the movie (which was exciting, because we'd only watched it on VHS, haha!) on Amazon and was so excited to give it to her.  So, wait for it, on Abby's 16th birthday, I gave her a movie made for kids ages 1-8! (Yep, I'm that nice.) The best part? She died laughing and loved it, of course!!

25 Days of Christmas: Day 22

Now, if you don't already know what today's post is, then go back and read the past two days'!  The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause is my "middle favorite" of the Santa Clause movies.  The second one is my favorite, the first one I said isn't necessarily my favorite, and this one's right there in between!

In this movie, the sad part is that Jack Frost tries to take over Christmas!! (No, not Michael Keaton from Jack Frost! ;)

25 Days of Christmas: Day 21

I was ECSTATIC when this movie finally came out!! It was LONG overdue--and if you've seen it, you can tell based on how much Charlie grew up since the first one! Haha! I remember going to see it in theaters, and the movie reel got messed up! I don't remember how long we had to wait for them to get the movie started back up again, but of course it was a big relief when it was fixed!

The Santa Clause 2 is probably my favorite of all The Santa Clause movies.  It's more about sharing the secret of Santa and keeping the spirit alive.  My favorite quote from the movie is, "Seeing isn't believing; believing is seeing."

25 Days of Christmas: Day 20

Watching this movie is the first time that I can remember ever seeing Tim Allen acting in something, so it's just what I used to always associate him with.  The Santa Clause isn't necessarily my favorite Christmas movie, but I will stop and watch it every time I know it's on TV!  Last year, I even asked for this movie for Christmas because it was FINALLY on DVD! (We had it on VHS, though.)  So now, I do own all of The Santa Clause movies on DVD, ha!

25 Days of Christmas: Day 19

Alrighty! Time for Matt's favorite Christmas movie!  Another wonderful movie, duh! I remember being so excited when this movie came out.  While it's pretty much the same as the original cartoon Grinch show that comes on, I also love the parts added in to How The Grinch Stole Christmas, like Cindy Lou Who running into the Grinch in the back room at the Post Office and getting all wrapped up.  The Holiday Cheermeister is also a fun part added into the movie to go further into the relationship between the Grinch and the Whos. Hope I didn't just ruin parts for you if you haven't seen the movie yet, haha!  And Jim Carrey does a faaaaaaaabulouuuuuus* job playing The Grinch and I can't picture anyone else playing the part.

In the movie, Cindy Lou Who realizes that all of the other Whos are so wrapped up in the "Hallmark version" of Christmas, and feels like everyone has forgotten the real meaning of the season.  I love the song that she sings, Where Are You Christmas?, so today I'm sharing that clip with you all.  Enjoy!

And, if you want to hear the story of The Grinch, and hear the song, "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch," here's a version I rather enjoy! :)

*Watch the movie for this reference ;)

**Note to anyone who read yesterday's post and cares: I have since learned what that movie is actually called!!! After more extensive Googling, it is called The Elf Who Saved Christmas and it came out in 1992.  My next mission is to find it online.....so far, not very successful!**

25 Days of Christmas: Day 18

This might be the strangest post of these 25 Days of Christmas. Why? Because I have NO idea what the name of the movie is!

Growing up, we always watched Christmas movies that had all been recorded onto a VHS tape.  The tape included Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, A Charlie Brown Christmas, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas (the mouse/clock tower version) and then the movie for today's post.  I guess somehow this movie got recorded over, because one time, years ago, I actually looked through the whole tape trying to find the movie. Gone. Oh well.

This is Riley!

The 25 Days of Christmas posts are interrupted to bring you this post. Notice, I DID get today's 25 Days of Christmas post up first, though!

It's been forever and a day since I've taken pictures of people and I've been really anxious to do so.  I keep seeing all these photos and posing ideas on Pinterest and I just really had the desire to take some pictures of a cute little girl......luckily, I know some people! haha.  My Aunt Sherrie's best friend, Kelly, has a little girl, Riley, who is just the funniest thing to listen to and watch!  Abby came with me to walk around Dorey Park with us as we took these pictures and as soon as we got in the car, one of us said, "She is a trip!" haha.  And while a lot of the things we had in mind didn't work out, we still had a blast!  Luckily, we had one of the warmer December weekends to walk around!

Since today is Kelly's birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! - I figured I wouldn't wait until after December 25th to get these pictures posted, but will instead do them today!  Kelly, thanks again for sharing your daughter with me and trying to make her smile for the pictures! :) We couldn't take any pictures on the grass ;) but I think we had fun anyway! haha!  Have a great birthday!!

25 Days of Christmas: Day 17

Okay, you guessed it (or most likely, you didn't)...but I have another ABCFamily movie for you!  The first time I saw this last year, it was one of those Saturday mornings when I woke up and just turned on ABCFamily.  If you may not know, all day Saturday and Sunday, ABCFamily just plays movies, so it's great!  On that morning when I turned on the TV, it wasn't quite December yet, but they were still playing Christmas movies (okay in my book).  The movie Snow was on, and although it sometimes takes me a while to get into movies I've never seen before and know nothing about, I was quickly interested!

25 Days of Christmas: Day 16

Today I'm going to talk about two movies. (Wait, what?!) Yeah, that's right, though.  I'm pretty sure there are way more versions of this movie that I could talk about, but today I will talk about two versions of A Christmas Carol that I've watched this season.  The first time I can actually remembering seeing A Christmas Carol, was when one of my high school teachers and advisors, Ms. Dick, invited Abby, Matt and me, along with a few other friends, to go see the Christian Youth Theater (CYT) Production of A Christmas Carol. A sweet friend of ours from school, Samantha, was in the performance so we really wanted to see her!  Ever since then, every time I see or hear about A Christmas Carol, my mind always goes straight back to that performance!! (P.S. If you've never been, you NEED to go to a CYT production.  I've been to several shows since then, and they are just incredible!!)  Okay, so for today's movies! :

25 Days of Christmas: Day 15

Today's post will probably show the kid in me.  Wait, that's probably at least 90% of the other movies, as well. Oh, well. 

Most people my age can probably relate to this: old school Disney Channel was awesome! I'm talking Zenon, Johnny Tsunami, The Famous Jett Jackson, So Weird, Wish Upon a Star, The Jersey, Even Stevens....all that! (no, not All That on Snick ;) Today's Disney movies and shows just aren't up to my standards of what Disney Channel should be creating but, there are a few shows I will watch and enjoy.  Yep, I am a Wizards and Good Luck Charlie fan, and Austin & Ally is a pretty good show (with not-so-good-at-ALL acting, but I like the concept), and, Phineas and Ferb somehow always sucks me in.  I don't know if it's the, "Hey. Where's Perry?" or "I know what we're going to do today!" or "Whatcha doinnnnnng?" but I always seem to be hooked on to every episode. I do

25 Days of Christmas: Day 14

Now, I will warn you, if you get emotional when watching touching movies, I may not necessarily recommend this movie to you.  The Christmas Shoes is definitely one of those movies that belongs on The Hallmark Channel (right over there with Mrs. Miracle).  There are so many important themes to be taken away from the movie that can be used in our everyday lives, but people only seem to remember them around the holidays.  It really shows you not to take your time with your family for granted (an appropriate theme for today's sad occurrences), don't let your work take away your time from the things that truly matter, and always make sure you have a nice pair of shoes on hand! (Okay, so last one was just to try and bring a bit of humor to what can potentially be a really depressing movie/blog post!)  Do I recommend the movie? Of course! Am I saying that if you're emotional, be prepared for tears?

25 Days of Christmas: Day 13

Sorry this isn't getting posted as early as most of the rest, but hey, at least I'm getting it posted! :)  This is one of those good 'ol Hallmark Christmas movies, Mrs. Miracle, and it's also based off of a book by Debbie Macomber.  Funny thing is, last time I was at the library, I actually left with a great stash of Christmas books, all by Debbie Macomber, one of those books being Call Me Mrs. Miracle.  Anyway, I first saw this movie I think a couple Christmases ago.  I probably wouldn't have normally watched it if I came across it while flipping through the channels.  I think I just happened to walk in the room as Mom was starting to watch it, so I watched it too, lol. 

25 Days of Christmas: Day 12

In honor of 12-12-12, today's movie is The Polar Express!!!!

Confused? Yeah, that's because there's no real connection at all.  I have nothing special to say about today's date for this post, haha.

I just think this is one of the cutest movies ever!  I remember the first time I went to see it.  Auntie Sherrie took Abby, Brooke and me to see it at the IMAX Theater in the Science Museum.  It was crazy awesome to see on such a huge screen!  I remember one part at the end, you see all of the elves at the North Pole, and seriously, the scene kept zooming out to get a bird's eye view and all you saw was red specs EVERYWHERE! Haha.  I remember laughing with Brooke and Abby about it while we were in the theater and we kept pointing out, "oh, look! ANOTHER one!" haha.

25 Days of Christmas: Day 11

Okay, so now that I'm off that ABCFamily Christmas movie kick (for now), here's another wonderful Christmas movie for ya!

For the longest time, I would think of this movie as, "The-Christmas-movie-with-the-Hanson-songs-in-it."  Yeah, I had strange/interesting ways of remembering things.  Why I couldn't just remember two words for the title, I'll never know.

Jack Frost is such a great movie, and if you haven't seen it, I hope this post won't spoil anything for you!  When I watch it, I feel so bad for Charlie when no one will believe him at first that his dad is the snowman.  Instead, everyone just teases him and talks about him for his crazy imagination. 

25 Days of Christmas: Day 10

Yes, this one is being posted way late tonight. Sorry bout it.  And, what's even weirder, is that today's movie just premiered. As in, just premiered last night! haha.  You know I love myself a good ABCFamily Christmas movie, and the past two days have been ABCFamily movies, so why not continue with that theme for today?! haha. But what made this year's movie a little bit different than all the others? It was a musical! So fun! I've loved seeing the commercials for The Mistle-Tones because of the catchy tunes and was excited to finally see the movie last night! If you missed it, don't worry, I'm sure it'll be on again before the holiday season is up!  But, if you just can't wait to see the movie, I highly recommend listening to these few songs to see what I'm talking about!

25 Days of Christmas: Day 9

Whaddya know? Another favorite ABCFamily Christmas movie!  Holiday in Handcuffs is such a fun Christmas movie.  Two actors from older shows that I love: Melissa Joan Hart (from Clarissa Explains it All and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch) and Mario Lopez (from Saved by the Bell) star as the two main characters.  This movie is your classic I-just-met-you-and-I-shouldn't-fall-in-love-with-you-but-I-can't-control-what-happens movie.  Yeah, how's that for a description?  Haha. Hope I didn't just ruin the movie for you; it's pretty obvious. And I think it's definitely a movie that can show how crazy some family gatherings can get around the holidays! Try not to get caught up in all the stress of the holidays and actually set aside time to enjoy yourself!

25 Days of Christmas: Day 8

So this movie was originally scheduled for later next week, but since it came on ABCFamily at 12am last night/this morning, I figured I'd post it today! I mean, hey, it's my blog, I can rearrange the schedule, right? ;)

12 Dates of Christmas is one of my favorite ABCFamily Christmas movies.  Imagine you somehow end up reliving Christmas Eve over and over, and each time, you still go on a date with Zack Morris.  Oops, I mean Mark-Paul Gosselaar.  Honest mistake.  Actually, even though it is Christmas Eve and I love everything about Christmas, I think I would eventually get tired of reliving the same day over and over.

25 Days of Christmas: Day 7

I actually don't know when we got this DVD.  I've known that we had it, just haven't watched it! Until this year! I love the Shrek movies; I think they're hilarious.  And Shrek the Halls didn't disappoint.  There was actually one part that really made me laugh, and I mean laugh. out. loud.  I usually don't laugh at loud at movies, but I had to, haha!

This wasn't a "normal" hour-and-a-half long movie.  It's a quick, less than half an hour Christmas special, but still enough to make a good show!  All of your favorite Shrek characters make an appearance to celebrate Christmas at the swamp!  However, everything doesn't turn out the way Shrek is expecting.  Just watch this short clip from Shrek the Halls to see:

25 Days of Christmas: Day 6

There's nothing I love more than a good 'ol DCOM (Disney Channel Original Movie).  Sure, they're still putting out new movies on the Disney Channel, but none are as good as the old ones.  And, for whatever reason, Disney Channel only plays these good movies Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights at 2:30am.  Because that's a convenient time to watch them, right? Negative. (However, Saturday night, I did wake up in the middle of the night, wide awake, and got to watch 'Twas the Night!)  Luckily, I've found a majority of those good 'ol movies on YouTube and enjoy watching them!

Anyway, The Ultimate Christmas Present has Forever been a favorite of mine. And, no, not just because it's Christmas. It's just a good movie.

25 Days of Christmas: Day 5

This is BY FAR my favorite Christmas movie.  I watch this movie so, so often and I honestly never get tired of it.  There are many nights when I don't like what's on TV so I pop in the DVD (of course, 8 times out of 10, it's already in there) to listen to as I fall asleep.  Sidenote: I have to have the TV on to fall asleep.

Anyway, I just think it's a hilarious and great Christmas movie.  I don't know, maybe I can't get enough of Tim Allen in Christmas movies, seeing as 4 of the movies I'm using for my 25 Days of Christmas he stars in, haha (was that an unexpected hint? ha, oh well).  We went to see Christmas with the Kranks when it came out in theaters, even though all of the movie reviews were negative.  I would love to meet those critics because if I remember correctly, everyone in the theater laughed for most of the movie... oh well, what do those critics know? It's a wonderful movie!

25 Days of Christmas: Day 4

There isn't going to be a lot of writing on this post.  Why?  Because words really can't do enough to explain the true humor and great moments in this movie. 

So, here's a compiled list of video clips from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation!! Enjoy!

"We're kicking off our fun old fashion family Christmas by heading out into the country in the old front-wheel drive sleigh to embrace the frosty majesty of the winter landscape and select that most important of Christmas symbols."

25 Days of Christmas: Day 3

You're back for Day 3! Or, you didn't know there was a Day 1 and 2 and you just happened to see this post. haha. Either way, Hi! :)  I'm enjoying all of these posts, and I hope you are, too! This is my favorite time of year and I'm still excited (probably more proud...) of the idea I had 4 years ago to start my own 25 Days of Christmas!

Well, on to today's movie, shall we?  You'll probably know it before you even finish reading this next sentence: I still can't wrap my head around all of those traps that Kevin McCallister came up with for Harry and Marv. Still, after watching this movie, I always think, "yeah, I would've NEVER thought of doing that..."  But I do love the diagrams Kevin makes in the movie to show HOW much he has thought out everything!  Okay, I let you have a few more sentences before giving away the title of the movie, but I really hope you know what it is by now!  Still don't? Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, of course!

25 Days of Christmas: Day 2

If you haven't ever seen this, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? This is really a classic Christmas movie and you must watch it! This is THE Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer movie.  The original 1964 version, not any of the newer versions that, quite frankly, just aren't as enjoyable to me.

I used to think that the claymation was weird, and Yuuuuuukonnnnnnnnn used to get on my nerves, but now, I think it's pretty cute to watch.  And Yukon still gets on my nerves. haha. Some things never change!  And Hermey the Elf reminds us all that we don't have to be what everyone wants us to be. :)

While putting together today's post, I found some pretty cool facts about the Rudolph movie...maybe you already knew some of them, maybe not....look and see:

25 Days of Christmas: Day 1

Soooo, has anyone thought of what the theme might be for this year's 25 Days of Christmas??

It's........................................25 of my favorite Christmas movies!!! And today, I have to start with a classic (okay, maybe it's stretching it to say a "classic" haha).

With that said, I'm starting off these 25 posts with ELF.  Honestly, how can you NOT love this movie?! It's like, the ultimate Christmas movie, filled with spirit!  So many people I know continuously quote this movie throughout the year, not just around the holidays.  For Christmas last year, I actually was given an Elf t-shirt, and I bought another one on sale after Christmas.  Come on, you can't have too many Elf shirts, right? ;)  And I don't think there is another actor who could've done a better job than Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf.  He was the perfect choice!