Freya's 25 Days of Christmas

If you read my last blog post, you will remember that last year I avoided Christmas like the plague.  I don't know why, it was just too emotionally draining I guess.  Well this year I have something to look forward to (July) and I'm determined to enjoy this holiday season, even if I am alone and miserable.  Well not miserable, that's what this list is for :)

In anticipation of Christmas, I am officially starting Freya’s 25 Days of Christmas….a movie a day (without the terrible made for TV Lifetime and ABC Family crap):

A Miracle on 34^th Street (1994)…This one makes an appearance on Thanksgiving Day…since I find myself with a list larger than 25…and the 26 Days of Christmas just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

1.      December 1 A Muppet Christmas Carol.  Starting the season off right.  Greatest movie ever?  Maybe.  Greatest version of a Christmas Carol? Definitely.  

2.      December 2 Meet Me in St. Louis.  Maybe not your typical holiday film, but Judy Garland singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is a great moment.

3.      December 3 National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.  How I haven’t seen this yet, I don’t know…2011 is the year.

4.      December 4 Joyeux Noel (2006).  Merry Christmas for all you sheltered Americans… haven’t seen this yet, but it sounded good!

5.      December 5 The Polar Express.  Shout out to Grand Rapids, woot!

6.      December 6 Holiday Affair.  I just love curling up on the couch on Christmas Eve watching this on TCM…too bad TCM Romania doesn’t do the Christmas movie marathon.

7.      December 7 Elf.  Let’s face it, this will probably be an everyday occurrence. Also on this day will be Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer...mostly because I'm a terrible person and forgot to give him his own day.  It's ok Santa, I'll just go ahead and put myself on the naughty list.

8.      December 8 The Shop Around the Corner.  Bonus: set in Budapest, and I just might love Budapest.  So much better than You’ve Got Mail, just sayin’.

9.      December 9 Little Women (1949).  Grams cultured me well. 

10.  December 10 The Santa Clause.  I’ve always been a sucker for Tim Allen, must have been those Detroit Lions crewneck sweatshirts he always rocked.

11.  December 11 Remember the Night.  Haven’t seen this one yet either, but TCM said it was good.

12.  December 12 A Christmas Carol (Disney).  My favorite thing about this version is the score…although the Muppet version holds its own.  “There goes Mr. Humbug, there goes Mr. Grim…” Anyone, anyone?

13.  December 13 One Magic Christmas.  One word: Classic.  Three words:  Terrible Disney Classic.  And by “terrible”, I mean awesome.

14.  December 14 Babes in Toyland.  Grams has this taped on a VHS, I had been resistant in the past but being away from home and missing your Grammy makes you do weird things.

15.  December 15 The Grinch.  I remember watching this in French, freshman year of high school…so not as funny.

16.  December 16 It Happened on 5^th Avenue.  Again, TCM said it was good.

17.  December 17 Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas.  This might have come out when I was in high school, and I might have watched it on repeat for a week.  I won’t subject you to Twice Upon a Christmas which might have come out when I was in college and I might have watched it on repeat for a month…but feel free to subject yourself.

18.  December 18 A Miracle on 34^th Street (1947)…Poor Kris Kringle.

19.  December 19 Holiday Inn.  Classic, need I say more?

20.  December 20 Home Alone/Home Alone 2.  They have to be watched together.  I look forward to this night.  Don’t concern yourself with 3 and 4 and however many more were made.  They’re just no good without Kevin.

21.  December 21 It’s a Wonderful Life.  It’s inescapable.

22.  December 22 White Christmas.  Love love love me some Bing Crosby.  The scene at the end where they open the barn doors to snow while singing White Christmas gets me every time.  

23.  December 23 How the Grinch Stole Christmas (cartoon)/ A Charlie Brown Christmas.  These get combined because they’re short and I have too many movies on this list.  And the combination of the two is just magical…I blame Grandma’s taped VHS copy that had these back-to-back, I just came to expect them to be together.

24.  December 24 Christmas in Connecticut.  Another TCM classic to curl up to.  Cheesy “Merry Christmas” guffaw at the end is the best part.

25.  December 25 A Christmas Story.  Visions of unwrapping presents under the dim light of my Christmas tree while this movie plays ALL DAY dance in my head.

These movies are not ordered based on how good they are, so don't even try to give me crap for putting Elf after Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas.

Enjoy!  I know I will!  

It's My (Birthday) and I'll Cry if I Want To

My birthday was a week ago and okay, maybe that title is a bit melodramatic.  The only tears shed last week had to with my beloved Lions royally sucking.  After a silence-filled day at school, I admit I was feeling pretty miserable.  But my counterpart brightened things a bit when she showed up unexpectedly with her 3 year old son and a birthday cake.  We had a good chat while gorging on delicious cake. 

I refuse to believe that I'm slowly arriving at the age at which birthdays start to suck.  So next year get ready.  Wherever I happen to be, there will be a bash.

One good thing that actually came out of my birthday was listening to Christmas music!  It's my own personal tradition that all things Christmas are allowed with the arrival of my birthday each year.  Perhaps it has to do with the fact that the first snow usually happens right around my birthday.  Still no snow here!  We had a brief overnight snow shower in October, but nothing since...I'm still not convinced of this miserable winter that's supposed to happen here in the heart of the Carpathians.  Last year, I avoided all things Christmas until a few days before the 25th.  That means music AND movies.  So this year, I was extra anxious for that little bit of Christmas cheer.  Hopefully I don't wear myself out before Christmas gets here!  Check out my next blog post to see just how anxious I am for December to hit :)

Another good thing about my birthday was the arrival of my Kindle a week earlier.  I've had my eye on one of these guys since I landed in Romania and my steady stream of books abruptly ended.  With Amazon releasing their new super cheap version, I just couldn't resist.  It has changed my life.  I'm not saying I'm giving up books forever...there is just something about the feel of a good book in your hand, but it sure has brightened the rest of my days in Romania (228, but who's counting?).  It feels so great to be back to my normal self.  Since the arrival of my Kindle, I have gotten through Jane Eyre (how it took me 24 years to finally read, I don't know), the Hunger Games Trilogy (they will definitely be re-read very soon), the Girl Who Played with Fire (love the series), and a few other bestsellers.  Oh yeah, I'm back.  If you have any good book suggestions, send them my way!  I leave you with a picture of me and my new best friend...which also doubles as a way to show my mother that I actually wear my hair down all of the time here, instead of in a pony tail.

Oh, and a picture of some of the teachers and myself during our Halloween party...and my counterpart's son.