Gratuitous New Year Post

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! I know I did. My parents, my sister and I always spend Christmas together at home. It makes for a nice relaxing day without the normal family stress that can happen around the holidays. This year was also the first year I made our Christmas dinner entirely by myself. It probably wasn't the absolute best dinner in the world, but it was pretty good if I may say so.

And now it's time to start a new year. It's crazy that 2013 should be here already. The years seem to go by so much faster now that I'm older. It's so strange the way time works. Some things that happened five years ago feel like they happened yesterday, but some of the things that happened a week ago feel like years. And a lot has happened this year. I guess a lot happens every year; there are 52 weeks, after all. I made a big move and left my job because of some personal reasons. I moved back in with my parents, and I've applied to graduate school (still waiting to hear back from them. The waiting is killing me!). My little sister has had a big year, too. She's been accepted into college, and she met an amazing guy who really seems to love her.

All of the big changes in our lives this year have set in motion even more changes that we'll get to experience next year. I'm excited about the future, but I'm also a little bit worried. I know; That's just life, right? Change can be scary, but it can also be beautiful. Next year I might go to graduate school. My sister will graduate and move five hours away to go to college. We'll all grow a year older. There will be deaths and tragedies. There will be births and celebrations. Time will forge ahead.

“And that is how change happens. One gesture. One person. One moment at a time.” 
                                                                              --Libba Bray, The Sweet Far Thing

P.S. I'm pretty sure I promised that I would put pictures of the cookies I made before Christmas on here. They turned out tasting pretty awesome. I made them from Alton Brown's recipe on Food Network. 

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Some Holiday Updates...and a special surprise!

As I'm sure you can tell, it's been a couple of weeks since I last posted anything. I guess that's just me being lazy. I promise to do better from now on; pinky swear.

So, Thanksgiving is over, and Christmas is on it's way. We always go to my cousin's house for Thanksgiving dinner, and everyone brings something. I made a dessert I found on Pinterest: marshmallow whipped cheesecake. You can find the recipe here. It was a bit of a last minute choice, but it turned out great, and it's super easy to make. I should have taken some pictures, but I always forget.

We also have an interesting Thanksgiving tradition at my cousin's house. Every year, after stuffing ourselves with a huge awesome meal, we play bingo. There are even little prizes (mostly dollor store gifts and scratch-offs). It's a great way for the family to have fun together. So instead of the arguments about politics and gossip a lot of families get into when they get together for the Holiday, we have arguments about whether B9 has been called yet ("Pay attention next time." "Well, if you didn't call the numbers so fast, I wouldn't have to ask!"). There's plenty of laughter all around at our Holiday get-togethers.

Along with turkey and bingo, I've been pretty busy lately (and I got a nice cold from all the running around this month). Our church missions group has been doing a lot to get ready for the mission trip to Romania next year. We had a meeting with the business committee at the church, so that we could explain what we would be doing there, and they could decide how much they would help us with financially. It was pretty nerve-racking. But their generosity was above and beyond. They've decided to donate $5000 to the trip, and they are paying for our tickets entirely ahead of time. We just have to pay them back the difference at some point. It was truly amazing to realize that we really were going to be able to go.

To thank the church, we spent part of Saturday evening decorating for the Christmas season.

This Saturday is another fundraiser. gift-wrapping and a cookie exchange! So tomorrow I get to bake again. This time I promise to remember to take pictures of my cookie-making process.


P.S. I just found out some amazing news! One of my best friends is having a baby! I'm going to be an "aunt" again!

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The Best Halloween movies

I don't know if you've noticed yet, but I love Halloween. And I'm a big fan of Halloween movies.

No, not those Halloween movies. Don't get me wrong. I love a good scary movie now and then, But my absolute favorite movies to watch around Halloween are the kind that wouldn't scare a fly. If you live in America and you have television, you've probably heard of ABC Family's 13 Nights of Halloween. I love those kinds of movies; The family friendly movies that are more funny than they are scary. So, here's a list of my absolute favorite Halloween movies.

1. Hocus Pocus

This, in my opinion, is the best Halloween movie. In case you've been living under a rock, you probably already know what Hocus Pocus is about. Three witches are accidentally summoned from the grave when a virgin lights the black flame candle on Halloween. Hilarity ensues. The three witches, played by Bette Midler, Kathy Nagimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker are a perfect trio. 

2. Halloweentown

This one is another great Disney made-for-tv movie. Marni and her siblings discover that their grandmother is actually a witch, and they secretly follow her to her home town; and Halloweentown isn't just any regular town. It's full of ghosts and monsters and a very punny skeleton cab driver. But something is happening to the very interesting characters in the town, and Marni wants to help her grandmother find out what it is. 

3. The Addams Family

This movie is a remake from the original 1960's television show. A stranger shows up at the Addams family's door claiming to be Gomez' estranged brother, Fester. It seems though, that this person is a poser, trying to get at the family's money.

4. Teen Witch

 Teen Witch is about a teen girl named Louise who finds out she is the reincarnation of a witch. When she turns 16, her powers develop, and she finds she is able to make every wish she has come true. When casts a spell to become popular, things get out of hand. I love this movie. I'm sure there are a few parts that weren't meant to be as hilarious as they are; If you want to get a taste of the 80's, you should definitely watch it. 

5. Practical Magic

Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman star in this movie about two girls raised as witches by their aunts. But the family has a curse; Any man they fall in love with will die before their time. The two sisters, with two very different personalities, find their own ways to fight the curse.  

6. Double Double Toil and Trouble

Remember when the Olsen twins were cute little kids? They starred in this Halloween flick. Twin sisters Kelly and Lynn discover their great aunt Sophia is being kept prisoner in a mirror by a spell cast by her sister, a witch named Agatha. The girls have to find a way to break the spell before midnight on Halloween or their aunt will be lost forever.    

7. Casper

Casper is a friendly ghost living with his not-so-friendly uncles. Carrigan Crittenden is willed the house the four ghosts are residing in after her father dies. She discovers a map to a treasure hidden in the house, but she is too frightened of the ghosts to go into it. Crittenden hires Dr. James Harvey, a therapist for the paranormal to move the ghosts on to the afterlife. But when Harvey and his daughter, Kat move into the house, they soon realize they got more than they bargained for.

8. Under Wraps

In this made-for-tv Disney movie, three kids discover a mummy in a basement. When the mummy comes to life, the kids are scared but they soon realize he is a good guy. They even name him Harold, but they find out that if the mummy is not back in his sarcofogus by midnight on Halloween, he will turn to dust.  

9. Mom's got a date with a Vampire

Chelsea and Adam have been grounded by their mother, but Adam really wants to go to a concert with his friend, and Chelsea has a date planned with her boyfriend. So the two kids set up a date for their mother with the mysterious Dimitri. When their little brother, Taylor believes Dimitri is a vampire, so he calls the vampire hunter, Malachi Van Helsing to help. When it turns out Taylor is right, the kids have to do everything they can to stop their mother from becoming Dimitri's next meal. 

10. The Witches

A young boy on vacation at a hotel with his grandmother discovers the hotel is also host to a convention of witches. When the witches discover him hiding in their midst, they turn him into a mouse. He teams up with another mouse-boy and his grandmother to stop the witches from changing every child in the world into mice.

11. Ghostbusters

Four guys create a ghost extermination business in New York City, and soon they must save the city from an ancient demon who is haunting the home of a cellist played by Sigourney Weaver. the ghostbusters have their work cut out for them as they fight off this demon, the city's many ghosts, and at one point a giant stay-puft marshmallow man.

12. Phantom of the Megaplex

Something strange is going on at the megaplex where Pete Riley works. Staff are going missing, the popcorn machine is going haywire, and equipment is going nuts. And it's happening on the night of a huge movie premier. Pete, along with his little brother and sister who are supposed to be seeing a movie go on the hunt to find the mysterious phantom who is sabotaging the theater.

13. Tower of Terror

I bet you thought Pirates of the Caribbean was the only movie based on a Disney World ride. Nope. Tower of Terror is based on the ride with the same name at the Disney Hollywood Studios park. A man who writes fake stories for tabloids and his niece travel to an abandoned and supposedly haunted old hotel where five people disappeared in the elevator many years ago. When they get to the hotel, they soon find that the hotel really is haunted.

14. Don't Look Under the Bed

Someone is pulling some mean tricks in the town where Frances Bacon McCausland lives, and she's getting blamed for it. She soon discovers she can see her brother's imaginary friend, Larry Houdini, and he can help her stop the boogeyman who lives under her bed and is causing all the trouble.   

15. When Good Ghouls Go Bad 

Danny Walker and his father have just moved from Chicago to the small town of Walker Falls to live with Danny's "Uncle Fred". They learn about the story of Curtis Danko, a boy who was killed in a mysterious accident in the 80's. Danko told the town that if they ever have another halloween, he would return and destroy them all. When the Walkers start to celebrate halloween, it seems to unleash a chain of events that causes the undead to rise in the small town.

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That Busy Time of Year

So I'm preparing for the busiest quarter of the year. You know, that time that starts before Halloween and keeps going until January 1st? My schedule is starting to fill up with events and meetings in order to plan for events. I can already tell it's going to be a stressful, yet fun holiday season. That's the thing about the holidays. I get so stressed because I have so much to do, but I love it. If there was nothing to do, I would be so bored. And I love the atmosphere; the baking, the people, the decorations. I love it all.

But enough about the holidays; It's still only October. Halloween is around the corner. Are you as excited as I am? Autumn is my absolute favorite season, and I swear it has nothing to do with the fact that my birthday is this month (ok, maybe just a little). There's something about the colors and the changing weather that just makes me so happy. And Halloween. I love Halloween. I am 25 years old, and I would still go trick-or-treating if I could. As it happens, this year I do get to go trick-or-treating. Well, sort of. I'm going with one of my best friends to take her son. He's not two yet, so it's really more of a chance to take him around and show off how cute he and his younger cousin are in their costumes. They're going as Mario and Luigi.

All the candy he racks up will most likely end up with daddy who has an enormous sweet tooth. It took me a a while to decide on a costume for this year, but I finally picked something out. I'm going to go as Ozma from Return to Oz. I know. You're thinking "huh? What the heck is that?" right? Yeah, no one where I'm from ever really knows what I am for Halloween.

Return to Oz is a Wizard of Oz sequel made in 1985 starring Fairuza Balk (That girl from The Craft.) If you know of this movie, I love you. I am obsessed with everything that has to do with the Wizard of OZ, and this used to be one of my favorite movies when I was little. The Wheelers still creep me out. So, what are you going as for Halloween?

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Beginnings

Hello everyone, and welcome to my attempt at a blog! I've decided to create this for a couple of reasons. I'm always on the go and doing different projects and crafts, so I thought it would be fun to make a chronicle of those. I also love to write (however bad I may be at it). So, if anyone is actually reading this, you may be wondering; "What is this blog going to be about exactly?" Well, that's a very good question, my hypothetical friend. And the answer is; this blog is about everything and anything. My life has many different aspects and so will my writing. But to give you a better idea about something you might see on here, I'll let you know some things about me. I love to cook. Photography is one of my favorite hobbies. I'm not a great photographer, but I love to do it. That's what counts, right? I'm a big geek (and I mean a Harry Potter loving, Doctor Who watching, Nerdfighting geek). Crafts, Crafts, Crafts! I am in the process of trying to lose weight. I have unfortunately just had to move back in with my parents. They're elderly, and have trouble getting around. They are also hoarders. I am doing everything I can to break them of that habit and organize the house. So there you go. Some information about what's going on in my life, and what you can expect from my blog. Stick around if you're a fan of any of that. Thanks for reading!

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