A Weekend at the Movies

OK, so we didn't actually go out to the movies this weekend, but we did take in a few. I have to admit that when the weather gets really cold like this (single digits) and there is no snow, there is little motivation to go outside. Saturday we caught up on Survivor since we missed it to go to The Best Christmas Pagent Ever at the Spokane Civic Theater. Then we watched a little Disney short called Prep and Landing. It was pretty cute, although I thought it was going to be longer after seeing a few ads for it. You can watch it on http://www.hulu.com/ by clicking here.

That evening we decided it was time for another Christmas movie. We have a few on our list.

Elf... check.

White Christmas... check.

Die Hard... wait... well, it takes place at Christmas time.

I actually hadn't seen Die Hard in years, so it was fun to watch. After all, it is 40 stories of sheer adventure!

Next, we watched something a little more mellow. Melissa wrote a post about wanting to see the movie Julie and Julia earlier in the year. Today we snuggled up to watch this charming little story. I enjoyed it thoroughly, although, our lunch seemed quite uneventful after watching all the French cuisine being consumed in this movie. I also felt like I may have gained 10 pounds just by watching all the butter and cream teasing me on the screen.

Oddly enough, we were playing 90's Trivial Pursuit later and this question popped up:

What famous cook stated, "giving up butter means that in about two years you will be covered in dandruff."

Once you see the movie, the answer to that question is incredibly obvious. ...so, why did I guess Dom Doluise? I guess I never was one to pick up on the obvious.

~Deanna~

Test Your Christmas Smarts!

I've definately been getting more and more in the Christmas spirit lately. We went to "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" at the Spokane Civic Theater the other night, I finally got my Advent wreath set up (on the second week of Advent *sigh*) and we spent an evening at The Bing Crosby Theater (I live in Bing's hometown) tapping our feet and whispering the lyrics to "Sisters". Inspired, I dug out my Christmas box and began pulling out decorations, dvds and one of my favorite little finds, a box of Christmas trivia. Aaahhh... I love both Christmas and trivia, so I snatched it up when I saw it in a discount bin one year after Christmas. I also found a great site with some fun tidbits at http://christmas.howstuffworks.com/games/christmas-trivia.htm. Now, I would like to bestow some of the enjoyment on you!

Questions:

1. What are the three different colors used for the candles of an Advent wreath?

2. In Miracle on 34th Street, at what store does Doris Walker work?

3. What did General Washington cross on December 25, 1776?

4. What holiday tradition evolved from a large stewing pot set out in the streets of San Francisco in 1891 to collect money to provide Christmas dinner to 1,000 of the city's poorest residents?

5. What does the 'X' stand for when Christmas is abbreviated to Xmas?

6. What colorful tree decoration did Ralph E. Morris, a telephone company employee, contribute?

7. Name the reindeer whose name begins with a 'B'.

8. What Christmas song was first introduced in the movie, Holiday Inn?

9. In Bulgaria, what object is hidden in the ashes of the yule log: a key, coin, or ring?

10. What was the angel's name in It's a Wonderful Life?

11. In what country did the tradition of sending Christmas cards begin in?

12. Do female reindeer have antlers?

Answers:

1. What are the three different colors... Purple, rose and white

2. In Miracle on 34th Street... Macy's

3. What did General Washington cross... The Delaware

4. What holiday tradition evolved from a large stewing pot... The Salvation Army collection kettle

5. What does the 'X' stand for... The first letter of the word Christ in the Greek language is chi, which is identical to the modern Roman alphabet's X

6. What colorful tree decoration... Electric tree lights

7. Name the reindeer... Blitzen

8. What Christmas song was first introduced... White Christmas

9. In Bulgaria, what object is hidden... A coin

10. What was the angel's name... Clarence

11. In what country did the tradition of sending Christmas cards... England

12. Do female reindeer have antlers... Yes, they are the only species of deer that females grow antlers

How'd you do?

:) Deanna

A Christmas Story Worth Reading

"The Herdmans were absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world. They lied and stole and smoked cigars (even the girls) and talked dirty and hit little kids and cussed their teachers and took the name of the Lord in vain and set fire to Fred Shoemaker's old broken-down toolhouse."

Thus introduces one of the most hilarious families I ever read about growing up. In one of my favorite Christmas stories this group of rowdy kids, through a series of events, force their way into the church's annual Christmas pageant. The story is narrated by one of the young girls at church whose mother ends up running the pageant. She tells it like a child would... unapologetically honest. The news spreads about the Herdman's playing the main roles and soon the whole town is waiting in anticipation to see what will happen.

The book is a light read of only about 80 pages and is perfect for reading out loud. The author weaves an important lesson through so much fun! I forced David to listen to me read it to him last year. I'm sure he won't be the last one either...
;) Deanna

The Best Things...

If there is something I love it is quality time and things hand-made.

What can I say? My man knows me...

16 origami lilies. I set them on my desk at work so I can brag about him all day. =D

Deanna

A Fair Weekend

Many people feel they come from a small town. Melissa and I (Deanna) know we come from a small town. It definitely had its good points and bad. It was hard being a high schooler living 80 miles from the nearest mall, but we definitely learned how to have fun just about anywhere. I suppose, like all good country songs, we spent our life dreaming about leaving our small town and then once we leave we find ourselves drawn back. One of the best times to be drawn back to the town we grew up in is the county fair. On Labor Day weekend the population swells from 1,000 to about 18,000. The fair has all the things a good small town fair should have. This last weekend was no different. One of my favorites is the exhibit barns:

These three pigs were obviously fans of NCIS:

We were always lucky to live just a few blocks from the fairgrounds. You have to cross the river to get there and lest you underestimate the beauty of the area, I snapped this photo on the way to the rodeo:

The next night was the demolition derby. This is no small event at the fair. The whole thing usually lasts about five hours and is full of crashes, cheering and spray painted logos.

This one was hilarious (nobody was hurt). The car on the bottom actually drove underneath the car on top.

The ironic thing is that as you peer through the exhaust and dust to make out the cars, the announcer reminds you there is no smoking in the grandstands.

This little gal was having way too much fun. She was also making eyes at David the whole time and at one point threw a slurpee straw at me... I don't blame her for being jealous though...

We had a great weekend. As we headed back over the mountains, I snapped this picture of the rain in the valley.

It is Time to Dig Out Another File

It's been a pretty rough week, and there are a lot of transitions happening in my life right now, so I'm feeling off kilter. The good news is that I got a new job and will be starting next week. There has also been alot of tough stuff going on and so it's easy to lose sight of good things happening in the world. This is precisely why I have my Happy Heart File, so I can get a little lift during times like these. Here is one of my favorites. Improv Everywhere decided to make this Little League's game the "best game ever". You won't believe all the things they pull off!

If the video doesn't work, click here.

I always have a smile on my face by the end of this video.

=) Deanna

Is the Grass Greener on That Side?

I keep driving by these sweet sunflowers peeking over the fence. All I had to take a picture with was my phone so I snapped this one. They make me smile and I can't help but wonder what they're looking at.






:) Deanna

Gotta Love the Stache

Well, we managed to fit in the last outdoor movie (you may remember my description of these from last year's post). This weekend we got some action from Burt in "Smokey and the Bandit". As we set up our chairs we got to see some fun reminders of the movie.

Then we settled in for the ride. I have to admit I barely remembered the movie, but with movies like this it doesn't take long to grasp the deep characters and complex plot points. David put it something like this, "This is one of the most ridiculous movies, but it is just so fun to watch!" Well put! Of course by the end of the movie I think I had quoted every line of the song "Convoy" as well.

It brought back a bunch of memories from when we were kids and would go on road trips with our cousins with a CB radio in each car. I remember Dad's handle was Shutterbug and Mom's was "Livewire". I'm not sure I ever convinced anyone that mine was "Scooby Doo" but I was convinced in my head. Oh, but don't worry, we never were chased by a crazy Texas Sherrif, bootlegged, or drove a shiny black Trans Am... although we did have an awefully cool "heavy Chevy".

Hope you are still enjoying your summer too! There's still a little left!

We gonna back on outta here so keep the bugs off yer glass An' the bears off yer tail. We gonna catch ya on the flip-flop. This here's Scooby Doo on the side. We gone Bye, Bye...

*D*

Night Day at the Museum

Saturday was a day at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture... or "The MAC" as most people around Spokane call it. They have an exhibit there now with costumes from all sorts of different movies and TV shows I watched growing up. They had the actual costume Robin wore in the Batman and Robin TV series, the hat worn by The Wicked Witch of the West, Indiana Jones' leather jacket, a Ghostbuster's jumpsuit and proton pack, lots of Star Wars and Star Trek costumes, the list goes on and on. Oh, and we happened to be there the day some special guests showed up. Luckily I had a Star Wars expert with me to alleviate any cultural or translation issues.

Here we are with a Tusken Raider or a sand person. They're supposedly quite aggressive and vicious. I think it must be because the sand gets into everything and chafes which can make a being quite irritable. This one looks scary, but really has a great personality...

We ran into a couple that look oddly like some friends of ours, but our friend doesn't have red skin, so it couldn't be her.

We got to see Princess Leia, Darth Vader with a young Vader in training, and possibly the cutest storm trooper I've ever seen. The helmet that's almost the size of the rest of him, the armor that's rolled up at the ankles, oh, and whenever he lifted the helmet the huge eyes and excited grin... these kids... ahem... these highly trained warriors were too fun!

We also wanted to try to connect with Mr. Vader because we figure he's probably just really misunderstood. He still wants to take over the universe, but we made some progress. I think he's reaching out...

*D*

Saturday morning breakfast & bag

My favorite breakfast...the one I ask for on special occasions...is eggs in a basket. There was no special occasion today, unless you consider Saturday a special occasion like I do!Cut with a heart-shaped cookie-cutter. I don't think it tastes the same without a heart.Whole wheat toast with real butter, please. And a glass of OJ. Gotta have OJ.Of course I can't leave the puppers out...she gets dog food topped with beggin' strips...mmm...
After breakfast, I finished sewing my new knitting bag. Instead of hauling around my projects in a plastic grocery sack, from now on I'll have this to make me look stylish (& less bag-lady-ish).And then, after photographing my new bag, I just sat there, enjoying the nice fresh summer air with Cody. I feel like I need to soak it in before its gone.

I don't think I'm ready for Fall just yet.

Melissa