Complicated Simplicity

a (really big) list of my favorite Christmas movies

i love Christmastime. i love the anticipation. i love the lights. i love the music. i love everything about Christmas. i especially love Christmas movies. i thought i'd share a list of my favorites for your Christmas movie-watching enjoyment! there are enough to watch one each December day leading up to Christmas and beyond. :-) so, here's my list (in no particular order):

• The Santa Clause- this has become a classic in our house.
• Miracle on 34th Street- both versions are great. i tend to love the classic versions, but the newer version is done pretty well.
• Home Alone + Home Alone 2- i never saw these until after paul and i were married and i love them. the soundtracks are probably my favorite thing about these movies, but they are pretty funny anyway.
• A Charlie Brown Christmas- love this one. i especially love when they read the passage from luke.
• Ernest Saves Christmas- we got this for Christmas when we were kids and all of us (parents included) laughed so hard we were practically rolling on the floor. it's such a hilarious movie.
• It's a Wonderful Life- one of my favorite movies of all time. my brothers loved it and passed the love down to us. i personally love it in its original, black and white, format. such a great story.
• Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July- i haven't seen this one in years. i love all the rankin + bass claymation though.
• Prancer- if you haven't seen this movie, you need to. such a great tale and it doesn't hurt that it's filmed in my homestate of Michigan. excellent family movie.
• Babes in Toyland- remember when McDonald's sold VHS tapes one Christmas? this was one of the options and i saved up my money to buy it. :-) it's goofy and silly and a very cute movie. the Cincinnati song will get stuck in your head, but at least you'll know how to spell it!
• Disney's A Christmas Carol- i love, love, love this movie. i think it's pretty well done. the graphics are amazing and i love jim carey.
• Will Vinton's Claymation Christmas- this one used to come on tv every year and my sisters and i eagerly awaited the "California Raisins Christmas special". :-) full of goofy claymation and music.
• Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas- i love Halloween almost as much as Christmas (or maybe as much....), so this movie that melds them together is awesome for me. AND, the soundtrack is amazing!
• Elf- so funny and delightful. such a great family movie and another modern classic in our house.
• The Year Without a Santa Claus (incl. Rudolph's Shiny New Year + Nestor, the Long-eared Donkey)- again, i love rankin + bass claymation movies. a few years ago i got this collection on DVD so i could watch them whenever i wanted. classics.
• Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas- the original Grinch is still my favorite. the music is the best. we had this on a videotape followed by It's a Wonderful Life (both taped from the tv). i STILL always like to watch them one after the other. :-)
• Scrooged- oh Scrooged. i love this movie so much. my brother introduced us to it when we were still probably a little young, but they also introduced us to Tales from the Crypt and The Night of the Living Dead, so this one is pretty mild comparatively. ha! i love this hilarious take on A Christmas Carol. put a little love in your heart.
• The Muppet's Christmas Carol- another classic. i love the muppets in anything.
• The Polar Express- such a magical movie. i love this one so much. this is probably one of paul's favorites to watch at Christmastime. we will undoubtedly watch it several times before the season is over.
• The Grinch- i really do love this remake/reimagination. i thought it was really well done and we saw it more than once in the theatre (and extreme rarity). i love jim carey's role and just love the whole thing.
• Fred Claus- i loved this one immediately when we saw it. such a cute and funny movie.
• The Original Television Classics (incl. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, The Little Drummer Boy + Frosty Returns- more rankin + bass claymation classics. so good. i got this collection several years ago as well.

what are your favorites? any i missed that you think i need to see? :-)

the summer list...2012

photo from my trip to Colorado-Garden of the Gods

this summer i hope to...

• stargaze on the deck (maybe see a shooting star or two)
• go on a long bike ride or two (Springwater Corridor and Banks-Vernonia Trail are at the top of the list)
• watch the fireworks on the 4th (and get the dog meds so he can relax a bit this year)
• do lots of hiking (ten new trails maybe? including hiking to the top of Multnomah Falls)
• explore a few new parks (Laurelhurst, Tryon Creek State Park and LL Stub Stewart are on deck first)
• go camping (i'd love to do at least one night each month June-September)
• go swimming (preferrably not in a pool)
• make sun tea (it's the best)
• go to the Oregon zoo (several times-i've got to make use of my membership)
• old fashioned game night (board games, card games and lots of snacks and music)
• have a picnic (on one of those hikes or bike rides or both maybe)
• bake a cherry pie (and maybe pick our own cherries)
• ice cream sundaes (with lots of toppings to choose from)
• go on a scavenger hunt (in the city or at a park, or both)
• hike the trail of ten falls in Silver Falls State Park (in its entirety-scott's planning on doing this one with us)
• explore the wildlife refuge further (it's one of paul's favorite places)
• play frisbee (one of paul's favorite summer activities)
• play tennis (another of his favorite summer activities-especially fun in the dark at a lighted court)
• play basketball (my favorite sport and one i'd love to get back in shape playing)
• eat watermelon (i saw an instagram where they ate it with olive oil, salt and pepper and now i can't stop thinking about it)
• go berry picking (we've got to get some of those hood strawberries again)
• make jam (out of hood strawberries perhaps)
• make fresh salsa and guacamole (mexican night!)
• take a trip to the coast (a day trip is fine-i want to tidepool and beachcomb and just enjoy the sand and water all day. this is one of wawa's favorite places in the world)
• play mini golf (we haven't played since we moved out here)
• watch the sunset from Mt. Tabor (it's been on the list long enough)
• do a summer reading program (at the library or my own)
• watch a movie at flicks on the bricks (looking forward to ET especially, but I'm hoping to get to all four)
• play a new game (maybe we'll find another to add to our collection)
• do a puzzle (great for a day when we're stuck inside)
• take a road trip (there are a few scenic byways we'd like to check out and camp along and explore)
• eat meals on the deck (when we first moved here and had no furniture we at out there all the time, now we rarely do-we need to do this more)
• go for ice cream (i want to find a tiny town with a small, independent, local, packed on a hot day ice cream shop....or one that may have Mackinac Island Fudge ice cream, but that's not likely)
• make homemade pizza (i'd love to try grilling one, but we can't grill here anymore so we'd have to take it to a park)
• play disc golf (the last time we tried it was hot and we had the dog so we couldn't play for long and i was stressed because we didn't have an apartment yet)
• ride the aerial tram (perhaps doing the 4T trail)
• get refreshers from Jamba Juice and blackberry lemonade from Burgerville (the strawberry lemonade refresher and blackberry lemonade are my absolute favorite summer drinks)
• stop and smell the roses (at the rose garden-i love that place so much)
• try a new food cart (maybe potato champion finally)
• walk the riverwalks (in Vancouver and in Portland)
• explore the leach gardens (they're not open on mondays, so we haven't been yet)
• shop at the farmer's market (even just window shopping/photo-taking)
• explore a new town (silverton perhaps, or one found on a random drive)
• get off the MAX at a random stop and explore what's there (maybe even switch lines in there too)
• create a summer playlist (for our roadtrips and just in general)
• spend lots of time outside (reading on the deck, exploring parks, going for evening walks, hiking, biking, etc.)

what's on your list for this summer?

a list...iPod touch apps and such

i got an iPod touch for Christmas...and i am already obsessed. :-) i absolutely love all the amazing things it can do and thought i'd share some of my favorite apps and such.

photo taking/sharing

• instagram-this is by far the most used app on my iPod. i even made paul get it so he could use it (and i could use it on his if mine wasn't handy). i love the filters (my favorites are rise and earlybird) and that i can share it to fb or twitter with one click. i've taken a wawillion photos already and love it. it was the first app i downloaded.
• pocketbooth-another favorite. i love that it gives me black and white photobooth strips. so fun.
• everyday-paul and i both have this one as well. it reminds you to take a photo of yourself (or whoever) every single day and then compiles those photos into a video. we've been taking photos of ourselves each day and i can't wait to see the video at the end of the year.
• diptic-great for making photo collages.

Bibles

• ESV Bible-i've been using this to read along with paul each day (we're reading three chapters together each day). love the portability and ease of searching/use.
• Logos Bible-we got twenty five free books when we signed up for this one and it has a bunch of different translations. someday, paul hopes to buy the software and he'll be able to access it all from his iTouch-pretty cool.

games

• plants vs. zombies-this is both of our favorite game. super addicting and super fun.
• angry birds-we have three free versions and love them.
• words with friends-we also have the free version and enjoy playing against each other. it's extra nice because you can play against people on facebook (no iPhone/iPod touch required)
• fruit ninja-we have the free version and it's so simple and fun.

productivity

• evernote-i use it on the computer, and now i can use it on my iPod as well. i love that it all syncs together and i can acess all of my notes and such from any computer on the web or my iPod or my computer desktop.
• reminders-this is built-in, but i love it so much. you can set tasks to repeat (something many other list-making/task-list types of apps and programs miss). i keep my to do lists right on there and have the tasks repeat as needed. it sends me a reminder when i specify and i just have to check the box. it also keeps track of what i've completed by date which is way cool to look back on.
• pinterest-i love pinterest and i love that i can take it with me AND add photos of things straight from my iPod.
• 1000 gifts-a great app for keeping track of your gratitude list through photos and/or text.
• multcolib-our library has an app! i can search the entire catalog, place holds, check on my account and check out digital titles all from my iPod touch.

health

• fitbit-i can track my info right on my iPod and enter foods i've eaten or my water intake or my exercise or weight. it's pretty awesome.
• walk there!-i checked the book out of the library before and loved it. now i have ten local walks (vancouver, wa and portland, or) right on my iPod. pretty cool.
• whole living smoothies-these recipes are amazing. we're hoping to add more smoothies into our life this year. and this app is super beautiful-very well-designed.

entertainment/misc

• kindle-yet another way for me to read my kindle books. even though i prefer to read them on the actual kindle it is nice that both p and i can read different books at the same time.
• netflix-finally, we can watch movies in bed again without having to haul in the laptop. and we can take them with us wherever we go (and wi-fi is available). the other awesome thing is that we can watch different things at the same time.
• pandora-love pandora.
• skype-so love that i can skype with my family without the laptop and anywhere there's wi-fi.
• red stamp-free cards i can message or e-mail right from the iPod touch.
• star walk-we haven't had much chance to use this one yet (cloudy skies), but we can't wait to try it out.
• flipboard-i can access the news, twitter, facebook and my google reader all from this little well-designed app. love it. one of my absolute favorites.
• twitter-love it.
• facebook-again a way to keep in contact.

so, what i want to know is...what am i missing? any apps or accessories you would recommend?

11 lists on 11-11-11

Inspired by katie's post here: 11 lists I decided to do a few different ones that fit me a bit better. :-)

11 things I like to eat:

1. Chips and salsa
2. Potatoes....any style
3. Mexican
4. Pizza ($5 from little caesars)
5. Brownies
6. Vegetables...any and all
7. Ice cream
8. Hobo Pies
9. Fruit leather
10. Rice and black beans
11. Bread...all kinds

 

11 restaurants I love:

1. Olive Garden
2. The Observatory
3. Red Robin
4. RAM
5. Henry's Tavern
6. Chipotle
7. Panera Bread
8. Cracker Barrel
9. Chili's
10. Sheesh
11. California Pizza Kitchen

 

11 cool places I’ve visited:

1. Washington DC
2. Walt Disney World
3. Beaver Island, MI
4. Branson, MO
5. Crater Lake NP
6. Seattle, WA
7. Olympic NP
8. Mt. St. Helens
9. Multnomah Falls
10. Yellowstone NP
11. Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario

 

11 Places I Want to Visit:

1. Cascades NP
2. Disneyland
3. Maine
4. Australia
5. Yosemite NP
6. Utah
7. Alaska
8. Hawaii
9. Glacier NP
10. Vancouver, BC
11. Colorado

 

11 books I love:

1. Bag of Bones by Stephen King
2. The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
3. What Women Fear by Angie Smith
4. Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
5. The Giver by Lois Lowry
6. 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill
7. The Stand by Stephen King
8. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
9. The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis
10. A Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
11. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

 

11 things I collect:

1. Rocks
2. Magazines
3. Lovely paper
4. Seaglass and other beachcombing treasures
5. Pens
6. Pencils
7. Markers
8. Notebooks
9. Books
10. Photos
11. Travel guides

 

11 games I love:

1. Ticket to Ride
2. Tsuro
3. Just Dance
4. Yahtzee
5. Super Mario Bros. Wii
6. Target
7. Phase 10
8. Monopoly
9. Super Mario Galaxy 2
10. Skip Bo
11. Apples to Apples

 

11 movies I love:

1. Stephen King's The Stand
2. Harry Potter series
3. Dan In Real Life
4. Beauty and the Beast
5. Ratatouille
6. Little Miss Sunshine
7. Up
8. Australia
9. The Rescuers Down Under
10. Alice in Wonderland
11. Wall-E

 

11 projects I have going on right now:

1. Christmas presents
2. Granny stripe afghan
3. Coordinating nursery for church
4. working on my Bible study for tomorrow
5. Reorganizing apartment
6. Deep cleaning apartment
7. Getting Wa's boarding situation worked out
8. Reading the pile of books on the table
9. Making Christmas cards
10. Planning what I want to do re: Project Life 2012
11. Planning my December Daily

 

11 facts about me:

1. I organize in piles
2. I thought I might hate reading books on kindle, but I love love love it now!
3. I take a trip to the library at least once a week.
4. I love Oregon and would live here forever if God allowed us to!
5. I prefer it to be chilly in the room when I sleep.
6. I am barefoot 99.9% of the time, if I'm not barefoot, I'm usually wearing flip-flops or Keens.
7. I do not enjoy cooking at all unless I'm cooking with someone. I want to enjoy it, but I just can't.
8. I choose my outfit for the day based on whether I'm going to see anyone I know or not.
9. I have the tv on all of the time. I watch shows while doing other things.
10. I love photography.
11. October used to be a rough month for me emotionally/mentally, but since we've moved to Oregon, October has been an amazing month. The best. Two years running. :-)

 

11 TV Shows I Enjoy

1. The Walking Dead
2. Parenthood
3. The X-Files
4. The West Wing
5. Little House on the Prairie
6. The Office
7. Brothers + Sisters
8. NCIS
9. Grey's Anatomy
10. New Girl
11. Raising Hope

 

autumn 2011 list...

i am in no way wishing summer away (there are still a few things i'd like to cross off my summer list), but since we're heading into september pretty quick here-i decided to get started on making my autumn list.

• autumn cleaning. i've already gotten a start on this. the plan is to reorganize the things that need to be reorganized and get everything deep cleaned before we head into winter.
• celebrate p's 30th birthday with a fancy dessert and some actual plans this year.
• sew something...maybe a camera strap cover or some decor item.
• come up with Halloween costume ideas.
• spend a day at the beach
• star-gaze
• Silver Falls State Park
• hike at the arboretum
• make homemade pizza
• bake bread
• start (and complete) couch to 5k...i can do it!
• finish kbird's birthday present
• start little bee's birthday present
• get some art on these walls
• corn maze and/or pumpkin patch
• drink a pumpkin spice frappuccino
• go leaf peeping
• start making plans for winter adventures that are close by.

what's on your autumn list this year?

summer 2011 list...

 

edited/updated 8/30/2011

• visit Mt. Rainier NP
• get ice cream from a local non-chain place
• finish up Stephen King's Dark Tower series of books
• visit Olympic NP DONE!!!
• hike to the top of Multnomah Falls
• visit North Cascades NP
• check out the Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood
• visit Crater Lake NP DONE!!!
• get passport cards-for visits to Canada (we'd like to go to Vancouver and maybe beyond)
• visit Mt. St. Helens again (on a day when we'll be able to see it)
• get my driver's license
• go camping DONE!!!
• finish up my study of Genesis and head into Exodus
• get my hair cut
• visit Lassen Volcanic NP
• visit Redwoods NP DONE!!!
• spend lots of time at the beach-exploring tide pools and collecting treasures DONE!!!
• swim-in both the river and the ocean
• drive down the entire length of Hwy 101 DONE!!!
• maintain and fill up my Summer 2011 minibook
• reorganize this apartment yet again-purging more stuff and making it even more functional
• log 300 miles (walked, biked, etc)
• plan p's birthday celebration/adventure-still not sure what we're going to do
• go on lots of dayhikes in lots of new parks/neighborhoods/areas

this list is more of a "do as much as you can and enjoy it all" kind of list rather than a "i must complete every single thing" kind of list. summer 2011 is about adventure and living life, not being a slave to a list. :-)

what is on your summer 2011 list?

a list (no. 04)...

The second list in my book of lists.

These are some of the (many) books on my current "to-read" list. Some I've read before (Harry Potter, Little Women), some non-fiction (Making Babies, When I Don't Desire God), some older and some newer.

See that bright pink journal underneath my minibook? That's where I write down any books that catch my eye or are suggested to me. I needed something I could take to the library with me because I could never remember what I was looking for (and if I wrote a small list, they inevitably wouldn't have any of them that day).

What's on your current to-read list?

a list (no. 03)...

My first list of the year (and the first one in my book of lists) is all about where I hope to take some day/weekend trips this year. I want to be sure to get everything that we can out of this beautiful area. I've linked up the sites to these places below.

• Crater Lake NP
• Mt. Rainier NP
• Seattle
• Silverton, OR
• Olympic NP
• Hwy 101 (OR coast)
• Cascades NP
• Salem, OR
• Mt. St. Helens
• John Day Fossil Beds NM
• Portland Art Museum
• Evergreen Aviation Museum

What local (or not so local) adventures are on your list this year? :-)

list (no. 02)...candy

In honor of Halloween's approaching arrival, some of my favorite kinds of candy.

• Snickers with almonds
• Butterfingers
• Kit Kats
• Jolly Ranchers
• Caramel Apple suckers
• Reese's Pieces
• M&Ms
• Nerds
• Gummi worms

what are your favorite kinds of candy?

list (no. 01)...halloween costumes

A list of some of the Halloween costumes I've worn over the years. My mom always made our costumes.

• cat-I don't remember this, I've just seen photos.
• princess
• police officer
• indian woman (our church would have themes each year-we were to dress as someone from another culture)
• angel
• donkey
• a dead hunter (my brother helped me put half an arrow in a hunting vest with some fake blood)
• a werewolf/monster thing

And that's just a few of my costumes...I really don't remember a lot of them. :-) What were some of yours?