The Dine-o-Round Blog

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Lindsay had a brilliant idea to start a blog specifically for a monthly tradition we have with our friend Libby.

Check it out!

He's an Angry Elf--Favorite Christmas Movies

This time of year, it's always fun to pull out the Christmas movies to help set the mood for the holidays. Since Christmas always seems to sneak up on me, I only get the chance to watch a few every year, but those few are always the same year after year. They are my essential Christmas/holiday movies. Of course, there are a couple of classics that aren't on my list because I've never seen them (I'm talking about you, A Christmas Story). Maybe next year I'll branch out and make room for a few I've never seen to add to this list. The top 5 movies that have a special place in my heart as favorite movies are:

5. A Muppet Christmas Carol--my favorite version of the Christmas Carol story. The muppets are hilarious. The musical numbers are catchy. Michael Caine is Scrooge. What more is there to say?

4. The Grinch--Both the classic cartoon and the one with Jim Carrey. Dr. Seuss is a genius and I always get a little teary-eyed at the Grinch's realization that "Christmas doesn't come from a store."

3. Christmas Vacation--It's really, really not Christmas until I've watched this AT LEAST once.

2. Elf--Will Ferrell, Ed Asner, and James Caan are cast perfectly. Elf is funny and has a super cute Christmas message. In fact, I'm watching it right now.

1. The Santa Clause--My family still watches this every year on Christmas Eve before we go to bed. It reminds me that Christmas doesn't just have to be a magical and powerful experience for kids. It can be that for everyone.

Staying Sane in the Snow

I kind of hate winter. I'm not a fan of extreme cold and I strongly believe that snow should stay in the mountains where it belongs. When it's cold and dreary, like it is this time of year, all I want to do is hibernate until spring. But the worst part about winter is that it takes a huge toll on my mood. I start to snap out of it some time around February, but I hate how grumpy and down I feel in the meantime.

This year, I have resolved to not give in to the wintertime blues.

I've decided the best way to fight my slight tendency toward SAD (as people in the psychological field call it), is to distract myself. I'm developing a list of goals or projects to work toward until spring comes and I start to feel normal again. This is what I have so far:

First, I really, really want to start a book club. I know for a fact that I have two friends that would definitely be interested in this. I've been told by one of them that I need to be the head organizer in order for it to happen. So, I've decided to take it upon myself to start this thing up after Christmas time.

Second, despite some initial reservations, I've decided to defend my title in Andy's next Ten Dollar Shorts Short Film Contest. That's right, for those of you that don't know, I am a short film contest grand prize winner. The idea that I have rolling around in my head isn't nearly as inspired as the film I submitted for the last contest. But I'm too competitive to not try to win a second time.

Finally, I'm working on a little project titled "Get the Hell Out of Utah." (Amy loves this one.) I don't really know where I'm going or what I'll do when I get there, but I plan on having those details worked out in the next few months. My parents are working on a similar project, which may or may not influence the outcome of mine.

Anyway, I feel very confident that these things will help me survive Utah-winter-yuckiness for the next couple of months. Any additional suggestions to aide me in this endeavor are greatly appreciated.

Fighting Boredom

When I was much younger, I had many activities that I enjoyed doing during those moments when I was all by myself and didn't have anyone to interact with. I would read for hours. Or I would write plays and draw pictures of fancy dresses in this notebook I had. T.V. was another source of endless entertainment. I'm pretty sure I could spend all day watching the shows on Nickelodeon.

Now that I'm older, I have a much harder time keeping myself entertained. I never know what books to read, I'm no longer interested in a career in the entertainment industry, and T.V. during the day feels like a waste of time. I'm pretty busy with my job, so I don't usually have to find ways to occupy spare time.

However, when a long weekend comes along (not exactly a rarity when you're a teacher), I have NO idea what to do with myself. I feel like I spend my days off wandering aimlessly around. I'm glad to have an extra day in my weekend, but depressed that I don't know how to fill the time. Heaven forbid I spend it on anything work related.

I've been trying to think of things I used to do to when I had spare time to myself to keep me from feeling isolated and down. Today I decided to cook. I found a recipe from Epicurious, went to the grocery store to buy ingredients, and poured myself a glass of wine (makes me feel much classier than I actually am). Then I got to work cooking dinner for my family.

This was one of the best ideas I've had in a long time. Having something to focus on kept my mind from slipping into the ever-present problem I have of "thinking too much." In addition, making dinner gave some purpose to my day, which always makes me feel so much better. Plus, the meal was actually kind of good and something that I would like to make in the future, with some tweaking to the recipe. Even if the meal had been a failure, I'm pretty sure the experience of trying something new would have been enough to keep my spirits up on an otherwise mundane day.

Best of Winter

It's been a long time, so I decided to find something to blog about and I find that list blogs are the easiest way to go when I'm in a writing rut. Although I don't believe in celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving (the underappreciated holiday), there are a few Christmas references in this list.

Without further ado, my list of winter favorites:

Hot chocolate with marshmallows
Cozy fireplaces
Hats, mittens, and scarves
Ice skating
Holiday parties
Sledding
Christmas craft projects...that I always talk about doing but never actually do
Seeing long lost friends and family
Glittering holiday lights
Christmas movies (especially "Christmas Vacation")
Christmas music (especially the NSYNC Christmas album)
Looooong holiday breaks

So Long, Summer

My summer vacation has finally come to an end. These are the things that I'll miss the most about my break:

Sleeping in
Staying up late
No commitments
Eating Popsicles
Going for long evening walks
Hanging out on week nights
No brown bag lunches
Hikes
Driving with the windows rolled down
Pool days
Bike rides
More than 12 hours a day of sunlight
Never having to plan a single lesson

Good bye, summer! You'll be missed!

A Failed Attempt

I changed the title of my blog today.

I got freaked out.

I changed it back to the original title.

I do not like change.