And now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for! Or at least the moment I’ve been waiting for since I got up at 7:30 this morning and didn’t stop moving until about 5 minutes ago…

the continuation of my Christmas movie countdown (the crowd goes wild)! If you missed numbers 10-6, have no fear, just click here.

#5: The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

Oh man. I’ve been craving this movie for the past few days. It’s just so darn…cute! I love the songs. I love the characters. I love Michael Caine as Scrooge. I love the story! The whole thing just makes you want to live everyday like it was Christmas - like it was the best Christmas ever! Oh, fun fact - Dallin and I watched this movie on our first date, on December 15, 2006. Ready- 1,2,3…aaaawwww!

Favorite part: Ok this is starting to get hard. Um…probably the song “One More Sleep till Christmas.” Or maybe the song “It Feels Like Christmas.” How can you not love a song with a line like “It is the summer of the soul in December. It’s true wherever you find love, it feels like Christmas!”? Love it.

#4: The Santa Clause (1994)

Yes, just the first one. Not the sequels. Step away from the sequels, people.

The first one is really the only one worth watching. But boy, is it worth watching. I’ve often wondered if the reason I love this movie so much is just a familial thing…my family really gets a kick out of this one, for some reason. This movie’s humor is infinitely better than the sequels’. A total non-believer unknowingly “accepts the duties and responsibilities of Santa Claus” when he scares the old Santa and makes him fall off the roof. He then has to deal with his transformation into Santa Claus, including the weight gain and beard growth. And even though other adults think he’s crazy and even he tries to deny it all he can, his son Charlie never loses his faith in his dad.

Favorite part: When Scott catches Santa on the roof. Pretty much from there until they get to the North Pole. “Well, we made good time.”

#3: White Christmas (1954)

Oh, I’m so grateful to my mom for raising me on the classics! Seriously, I know this movie inside and out. And it is good. Bing Crosby is just classy. And this story is great too - it’s all about giving an incredibly thoughtful gift to an incredibly deserving man. Throw in some awesome song and dance numbers (Mandy! Snow! Sisters!) and mix in a love story, and you’ve got yourself a goodie.

Favorite part: Hmm…can’t choose between two. Either “Sisters,” when Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye don the girls’ attire to perform their number about what it’s like to have a sister, or the end, when General Waverly walks into the ballroom expecting a show and getting a tribute planned just for him. And then it SNOWS! And it’s pretty.

#2: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2004)

Oh yes, the original animated one is fine. Classic, even. But Jim Carey is just…better. I don’t even like Jim Carey, and I love this movie that is pretty much dominated by him. It still amazes me sometimes how Ron Howard (director supremo) stretched this story out without making it seem stretched. The background they give to the Grinch is entertaining, telling, and heartbreaking all at once. Poor little Grinch. And seriously- this movie has, quite possibly, the most impressive collection of spectacular one-liners/monologues of any movie. And I have them all memorized, thank you very much.

Favorite part: “Even if I wanted to go, my schedule wouldn’t allow it! 4 o’clock- wallow in self pity. 4:30- stare into the abyss. 5 o’clock- solve world hunger- tell no one. 5:30- jazzercize. 6:30-dinner with me; I can’t cancel that again! 7:00- wrestle with my self loathing…I’m booked! Of course if I moved the loathing to nine, I would still be done in time to lay in bed, stare at the ceiling, and slip slowly into madness…..But what would I wear?!”

(drumroll please)

brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

#1: It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

Duh!

What did you think- that I was going to pull a Moviefone and put this movie- this movie- in anything other than first place? Ok, maybe it is “cliche,” or whatever, to list this as the best Christmas movie…but you know what? It IS the best Christmas movie.

A lot of times I wonder what I could be doing with my life- like, really doing with it. I’ve always seen myself as a pretty capable person- nothing incredibly special, but capable of doing a whole lot. Sometimes I wonder why I’m not doing a whole lot- why I’m not following a steady career path, why I got married so “young,” why what I want to be isn’t a doctor or a lawyer, but a kick-a wife, mother, daughter, and friend. These thoughts make me think about what really matters, and what really matters isn’t the place I’ve gone or the impressive things I’ve done- it’s the people I’ve touched, and whom I’ve let touch me.

The man in this movie had some serious dreams. He wanted to see the world, to build things, to get away, to really make something of himself. What he didn’t realize was that he was making something of himself all along, by staying home, by working hard, by being a husband and father and being cooped up in an office and living in a fixer-upper home. He really was living the dream; he just didn’t realize it.

I hope I realize it.

“No man is a failure who has friends.” Life really is wonderful. Love one another. What better Christmas message is there?

So I hope that, in the next few days, you get to watch a good Christmas movie with some people you love. Turn off the lights, turn on the fireplace, turn up the volume. Watch and love, people.

Merry Christmas!

(Side note: the reason I have to write about something that happened four days ago is because I have been unnaturally busy. It’s just that time of year, I guess…)

(Side note for the side note: I know it was early in the post for a side note, but for some reason I felt like my delay in getting this post up had to be explained.)

So anyway, in case you forgot where we left off (and really, who could blame you?) - four days ago…

Thursday night. Katie is driving home after a long day at work. Every day at work is long, and Katie was extremely excited to get home, see her hubby, and maybe go out and do a little Christmas shopping. She had called this hunky husband of hers to let her know she was on her way home. She had called her dad to get some gift ideas for her older sister. And where our story begins, Katie was singing along - loudly and shamelessly, I might add - to whatever version of “O Holy Night” was on the radio at the time.

Just as Katie is about to reach the climax of her private performance, she suddenly hears a sound that just ruins the song. It’s kind of a “thump THUMP thump THUMP thump THUMP thump,” you know? Not only that, but Katie’s ride suddenly gets a little bumpier. Katie slows down, pulls to the side of the road (unfortunately the left side, since she was in the left lane…) and soon her worst fears are confirmed.

Yes, I had a flat tire.

Here, I must pause and give myself props for not freaking out about the whole thing, because really, I didn’t. No screaming, cussing, or crying. Just pulling over and stopping. Just so you know…this is rather uncharacteristic of me, so I had to point it out.

Anyway, just at this exact moment when I pulled over, my dad called to give me some ideas for a gift for my sister. I told him what had happened, and he insisted on coming to help. Then I called Dallin, who also left immediately to come to my rescue. I hung out with Mickey (this is my car’s name, duh) for a while as I waited for my helpers. Dallin got there first, and started pulling out tools and stuff to fix the dang thing. Then my dad got there, and, since my services were obviously no longer needed, I went to wait in Dallin’s car. Yes, perhaps I should have stood outside to gain some kind of knowledge about how to change a flat tire…but it was cold, people. COLD.

This was the only picture I got, taken via phone.

Long story short (ahem) my spare was flat. Dallin and I took off to get a new tire and fill up the spare, and my dad kept Mickey company. We came back, they fixed the tire, and we all went our separate ways…except of course for Dallin and I who went to the same place…since we are married….

How I wish this was the end of the story!

Dallin had a stop to make before he came home, so I beat him. An odd smell met my nose when I entered, but I thought nothing of it…until I walked into the kitchen and felt water under my feet. Our kitchen sink was overflowing. The stars must have aligned. They must also have hated us for some reason.

Dallin called the apartment complex people, and they sent a guy over. Dallin and I went to get In-n-Out, and then met the plumber man back home. He tried several different things, and the problem was not solved for a couple hours. Apparently the apartment above us had had a clog the day before, and when whoever helped them “fixed” theirs, he really just shoved everything down to us. Yummy.

Needless to say, it was not the relaxing night I was looking forward to.

Whenever my family would go on a vacation, we always seemed to have little incidents occur. You know - the rental car place screwing up and giving us a compact sized car for 8 of us plus luggage; locking the keys in the car in Massachusetts and having to spend 2 hours in a gift shop waiting for AAA; driving the wrong way down a one way street in Boston; being kicked off a bus in the middle of nowhere in Italy left to find your own way to your hotel. That kind of stuff. My mom referred to these “incidents” as “adventures.” Adventures indeed, mother.

So I guess Thursday night marked mine and Dallin’s first married “adventures” together. Unless of course you count getting on the wrong plane on our honeymoon.

But that’s another story.

There’s a list on Moviefone that counts down their top 25 Christmas movies of all time…but my eyebrows raised more than once while I was reading it. I decided to take on this task for myself, just so the universe knows how I feel. Mind you, 25 is a lot of Christmas movies, once you start to think about it. I don’t think I could list 25 Christmas movies that I really like, much less like enough to give a place of honor on a favorite list. But there are 10. Oh yes, there are 10. I’m breaking this down into two posts for reading and writing ease. Hope you don’t mind… here’s 10 through 6!

#10: Santa Claus is Comin to Town (1970)

Really, this one earns its position by way of nostalgia. The classic Christmas-movie-making technique of clay-mation, the catchy songs, the cute penguin Topper, the villainous Burgermeister Meisterburger, Burgermeister Meisterburger’s name, and the fact that Fred Astaire narrates, all combine to make a fantastic Christmas classic. Did I mention the cute penguin Topper?

Favorite part: the song “Put One Foot in Front of the Other.” Don’t ask me why - just love it.

#9: Miracle on 34th Street (1947/1994)

Old versus new. Can’t decide; really I can’t. In all honesty, I’ve probably seen the new one a few more times. I put the picture of the old because it is, obviously, more of a classic. I think the remake was done really well though. This movie just makes you want to believe in Santa Claus - which, of course, I do. But seriously, poor Santa being put on trial! It makes you sad for this movie’s world. And then he’s saved (huzzah!) by the post office/a dollar bill, depending on which version you’re watching.

Oh my gosh. This is the perfect time to show you guys something:

Totally and completely 100% real. A customer brought it to me at the bank to exchange it for a “normal” one. I think she was worried no one would take it.

Anyway.

Favorite part (old): Pretending to be monkeys OR Santa blowing the bubble gum bubble. Classic.
Favorite part (new): Christmas morning, when all the little girls dreams come true. *sigh*

#8: Holiday Inn (1942)

The only reason this is so far down on the list is it’s large dependence on other holidays besides Christmas. But don’t get me wrong - this is a Christmas movie, and it’s a Christmas movie I heart. I mean, this is where the song “White Christmas” came from. “White Christmas,” people! That song is beautiful. And, fun fact - it won an Academy Award for Best Song the year it came out. But this movie is splendid. Great actors (oh, Bing Crosby!), great songs, and funny. Seriously, this movie is funny.

Favorite part: The ending, by far. Linda’s crying, singing “White Christmas” all alone. Then she sees Jim’s pipe and hears him whistling and she looks around for him and…there he is! Ah. Talk about “melting her heart right down to butter,” Miss Maimie.

#7: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)

Ah, the clay-mation capital of the world. Seriously, clay-mation = Rudolph. This movie is just cuteness clay-ified. Although, let’s face it, a lot of the characters are grumpy gusses. The head elf guy, rudolph’s parents, even Santa! But Rudolph makes up for it. And Clarisse is cute too. And Kirby, the elf (pictured above) who wants to be a dentist! Which is just so random it makes me laugh…

Favorite part: When Rudolph talks to Clarisse and she says he’s cute, and then he gets so excited he flies around yelling “I’m CUUUUDE! She said I’m CUUUUUUDE!”

#6: Elf (2003)

Oh my. You want to see me laugh? Turn on this movie. There will be laughter. Will Ferrell isn’t really my most favoritest actor ever, but he’s hilarious in this movie. His innocence is just amazing. For those of you who don’t know, Buddy is a human who snuck into Santa’s bag one Christmas and was taken back to the North Pole, where he stayed to be raised by Santa’s elves. But when he finds out he’s a human, he sets off on an adventure to find his dad, and spread some Christmas cheer in the process. He loves sugar, syrup, singing, and Christmas trees. I’m already giggling.

Favorite part: Mmm…either the escalator, the Christmas-gram, or the date. Hard to say.
Favorite Quote: “I just like to smile, smiling’s my favorite.”

So there we go - one half down and one to go! Stay tuned. Go watch a good Christmas movie while you’re waiting. With a blanket and some HoCho. Mmmm…

As I’m sure is the case with everyone out there, my family has their own nice little traditions for Christmas time. Some of the more normal ones include opening pjs from my grandparents on Christmas Eve, watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” on Christmas Eve, building a fort for all the kids to sleep in, having a Christmas Eve program complete with a play in which Katie always gets to play Santa Claus…the usual.

There is one Allen family Christmas tradition, however, that I have yet to find a match for: the Lighting Ceremony.

Now, as you may have guessed, this tradition is all about turning on all the Christmas lights in my parents’ front yard for the first time. What you may not have guessed is what accompanies said electrical display. Let me break it down for you:

1) Family and friends arrive. Usually between 4 and 5. This is my mom’s whole side of the family, whatever friends my siblings invite, and whatever other family is lucky enough to be in town. All in all, we end up with a crowd of 35-45 people.

2) Crowd relocates from comfortable privacy of the indoors to the front driveway. Yep, the front driveway.

3) Crowd eats homemade chili, store bought french bread, and pink lemonade. Always this combination. Always. Still in the driveway, people.

4) Crowd moves to the street/sidewalk in front of the house

5) Crowd participates in program, which includes but is not limited to: introduction/history of the Lighting Ceremony, Q&A time with Mark Allen (the light putter-upper), singing various Christmas songs, freezing, and finally, a countdown during which several small children run to various outlets so they can plug in the lights when the countdown reaches 0.

6) Crowd sings “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” as we walk inside. (Except for this year, when we sang “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” and then sang the Sun Devil fight song, in honor of the big game…for all the good that did.)

That, people, is the lighting ceremony.

We’ve done this in the rain.

Let me just say that no matter how embarrassed we all act when a car slows down as it’s passing by to see what those idiots are doing in their driveway, we all love the lighting ceremony. My mom started it, 25 years ago, and it’s grown to be one of everyone’s favorite Christmastime traditions, including mine. Perhaps, someday, I’ll have the initiative to start a tradition that brings my whole family together to do something completely strange once a year.

love my fam.

You’re all invited next year, just so you know. You’ll have to give me your address so we can send you an invitation (yes, invitations are sent). Think you can handle it?

Here are a very few pictures from the blessed event - the big numero 25 - the Lighting Ceremony, 2008!

Ready to rumble.

Papa (Grandpa) enjoying his chili.

My sister Julie and her beau Chris enjoying THEIR chili.

My adorable cousin Brooke enjoying MY chili.

(here is where I would post pictures of the actual ceremony, including the crowd outside the house and the lights…but sometimes I suck and don’t get good pictures of such things. Perhaps I will get them from my mom and post them later…)

Relocated to the indoors to watch the sucky mcsuckerson ASU v UofA game. That’s all I’m going to say about that. De-press-ing.

Anyway, it was a fun time, as usual. Can’t believe it’s been going on for 25 years! And to think it’ll probably keep going on for another 25…

-Katie

Ok, so yelling the last two words doesn’t really fit into the song, but can you blame me for not being able to contain my excitement? We all love Christmas, and it’s here! So yell it, baby!

I am particularly excited because a few short days ago, Dallin and I put up our Christmas tree that we bought as part of our 6 month celebration. While we haven’t exactly built up a grand collection of homemade ornaments (or…any ornaments, for that matter…) we still put together a lovely, simple tree. And seriously, folks, we had to put it together. You know how those fake trees are…*sigh* too bad they’re just so much easier than real ones, right?

*disclaimer: due to lighting issues (or, perhaps, just poor photography) many of our pictures are blurry! sad, but what can you do?

Dallin putting the top piece on! Yay it looks like a Christmas tree!

Untangling the lights. Maybe it’s because our lights were brand new…but we didn’t even have issues with them. It was like…surreal.

Stepping back to admire the handiwork of the lights.

Ornaments! aka the few, the proud.

Cleaning up afterwards…who knew that even fake trees leave a mess?

Ta Da!

You know, as I write this, I am sitting next to one of the beautifully decorated trees at the ASU Institute building…and it’s made me realize some things as my pictures were uploading…

1) I need something for the top of my tree!! This tree has a huge bow on top that trails down and is all interwoven throughout the tree. It’s lovely! I at least need a star or something…

2) Tree skirt=better. This tree just has a green sheet around the bottom and it looks good! Gotta remember that…sheet. Got it.

Well, I’ll fill you in on the updates I make. For now, I love my tree!!!

Merry Christmas!

Yay for turkey day!

Mostly because we got to spend it with Dallin’s family. I mean, I love Thanksgiving with my fam and all (duh), but really, we don’t get to see them hardly at all, so it’s so nice when we do! Especially on a grand day of thanks.

As odd as it may seem, we met up with them in Las Vegas, since Thanksgiving was happening in St. George and apparently that was the most convenient airport for them to fly into. But that was just fine, because it meant we got to spend a day in Vegas! Dallin and I left pretty late Tuesday night, so we didn’t get to the hotel until about 2ish, and then we were up at 6 on Wednesday morning to go to the Las Vegas temple. We spent a few hours there. I didn’t get any pictures because it was cold and rainy, but it was such a good experience for us to all be there together doing temple work. After that, we went back to the hotel for a nap…which turned into more of a sleep…and left at about 5 to hit up the strip and see a show.

Dallin, his little bro Dayton, and I walked around to check some of the sights of Vegas:

The sweet fountain at the Bellagio…which we actually only ever saw from across the street because of timing issues…

See?

The “Trevi Fountain” at…Caesar’s Palace? Not sure…but this one doesn’t have gelato shops surrounding it like the real one does…sigh…

My very most favorite hotel…THE VENETIAN! Yes, I have a favorite Vegas Strip hotel…you gotta problem?

Not only does this place have replicas of stuff from one of my most favorite cities ever, but this is also the very hotel that houses the Phantom theater! Dallin and I came here when he surprised me with Phantom tickets in July. (story here). And, you should probably know…me+phantom=heart. Like, a big heart with glitter on it.

Anyways, after our jaunt down the Boulevard, and dinner at Chipotle (mmm…Chipotle) we headed to Planet Hollywood to catch the hypnomagician show we had tickets for. We effing waited for an effing while before they effing let us in to see the effing guy….if you don’t get my drift, the guy was a cusser. Like, an Irish cusser. We walked out after 15 minutes or so. LAME. But then, we went and saw “Bolt.” Disney rocks. They just do. It was a good movie! And there was only one f-bomb in it…

sometimes I think I’m funny.

Thanksgiving morning, we packed up and headed off to St. George. It was actually a pretty short drive.

Cool foggy-ness on the drive.

St. George was great! I’ve driven through numerous times, but I’ve never actually stopped there. My favorite part was the leaves- fall leaves! Those just don’t happen round these parts.

Beautiful!

Dallin’s family (we were with his Dad’s side) is wonderful. They were very accepting and made me feel very welcome, even though I didn’t know a lot of them! I gotta be honest, a main topic of conversation was the Twilight movie, so of course I had something to say about that! The actual Thanksgiving meal was delicious, and I even found a way to stuff myself without using my back teeth!

(Side note: My teeth/gums/cheeks/mouth are all doing fine. I actually had bruises on my cheeks, which made me sad…but they are gone now. Side note over.)

Unfortunately, all the happiness was much too short lived. After a too short nap…

…it was time to hit the road. I had to get back for work (stupid work…grumble….hate…job….grumble grumble) so we were off. It was definitely much too soon, and it made me sad! Dallin was incredibly sweet and drove the whole way…probably just as much for his own safety as for my well-being…

We drove past AZ Mills mall at about 12:30 AM on our way home, and saw the parking lot PACKED and freeway exits backed up for a mile! Craaaaazy. So glad I’m not into Black Friday shopping (and also glad I had the day off at American Eagle…)

I’m so grateful for my husband and my family. I’m grateful for the Church, for my Heavenly Father, for my Savior, and for my testimony. I’m grateful for my home, food, clothing…all the things that make my life so comfortable. I’m grateful for this country, and for the beautiful Earth we have been given. I’m grateful for good friends. I’m grateful for music, for flowers, for cookies, for rain, for good movies, for telephones, for good smelling candles, for Dr. Pepper, for pillows, for cars, and for air conditioning. Did I already mention my husband? Maybe I should again…my husband.

It was a spectacular Thanksgiving! What are you grateful for?

So…the movie. I was really looking forward to it. Like, really. As I’ve said before, I’m not the biggest fan of Stephanie Meyer’s writing. The books are repetetively repetetive. But, the stories carry the books through, so I was excited to be able to experience the sweet story without the annoying writing. I was, however, a bit disappointed. Some thoughts:

1) Edward=ew.

Look at this guy:

No, not the best looking guy in the world. But not bad, either, right? Right. This is what the fimmakers had to work with. Plenty of room to work, in my opinion. However, they took this potential and turned it into this:

Seriously, this is the closest picture I can find to what he actually looks like in the movie. Some other promotional pictures keep him looking pretty good, but this is what he really looks like in the movie. Oh and since you can’t see his hair in that picture…

THAT is his hair! And the wind is not blowing, folks - it just sticks straight up like that. Constantly.

Now, I know this guy is a vampire. I know he’s not supposed to look normal. But he is supposed to be cute. And I don’t care what all those 11 year old girls say… this guy is not cute. He’s just not!! His face is too white. It’s beyond pale and nearing clown territory. And he’s got about 12 coats of this hideous purplish red shade of lipstick on that you can’t really see in these pictures but is blatantly obvious in the movie. And his hair, by the end of the film, just overwhelmed me. It’s not cute. It’s ridiculous.

2) Acting= comical

Expressions! The whole cast had issues with this. They were either too goofy (Mike), too vicious (James), too bored (Bella) or too…clueless (Edward and Jasper). Seriously, they looked like mindless, frightened idiots most of the time.

3) Effects= cheesy

The special effects are cheesy (slow-mo, flying/running, etc). And I’ve already complained about the makeup.

4) Story= huh?

As far as interpretation of the story goes…I was all right with it. I don’t think anyone that hadn’t read the books could have followed it at all. Edward and Bella’s love is crazy- they basically love each other because…they love each other. Bella’s love for him is more like an obsession, which does not come off in the movie at all. And Edward’s “drug-like” love for her just comes off creepy and stalker-like. And let’s face it, the whole idea of being in love with a vampire is hard enough to wrap your head around. Those of us who have read all the books might get it…but I don’t think anyone else would.

5) Tree climbing+flashbacks=yay!

The music is actually really good. I’d buy the soundtrack. The scenery is good too. Basically, the ambience set up the movie to be good…and lots of other things wrecked it. There were some good scenes that I thought were really cute (tree climbing, Edward’s flashes of Bella when he has to save her) but generally, I thought it was weird and disappointing. Bummer.

Speaking of bummers, my wisdom teeth and I have parted ways. I think I’m handling the separation pretty well. I’m not puffed up like a chipmunk, but ice definitely feels good. The medication helps, but it was really annoying to sleep basically sitting up. I’ve watched a few movies, eaten a good deal of applesauce, and blogged (of course)! And I keep tasting blood…blegh. Wonder how Edward does it…

-Katie

I’m “going under the knife,” as Dallin would say.

I kind of have the heebie jeebies about the whole thing…

And now, I’m off to see Twilight! Much more positive!

I’ll let you know how it goes!

I’m not sure I can explain to you the goodness of the good news I have.

WHITE FUDGE COVERED OREOS ARE BACK!

WOOT!

My love for these delicious morsels has distorted my thinking. I can no longer decide whether the appearance of these Cookies (yep- capitalized) means Christmas is coming, or if Christmas coming means the appearance of the Cookies! Either way, I bought two boxes.

Holidays are grand. Wait until I get a hold of some Mint M&Ms.