Christmastime is Here or (I’m Overwhelmed, Charlie Brown)

With all the birthdays, anniversaries, and celebrating Jesus’ birth, this is one of the busiest times of the year for my family (I mentioned a little bit about it here).  Throw in a couple of weddings, and I’m stressed out.  As in right now.

Did you know that I’m a bridesmaid?  And I’m wearing this in the wedding…

 

It’s a lovely dress, but shoulders and arms are its main focus.  Neither of which are one of my assets (How many women walk around thinking their arms look amazing?  Other than Michelle Obama and Kelly Rippa, not many).  So I need to start working on them.  I honestly have been trying to start an arm exercise regimen for several month now.  It’s just so hard for me to exercise.  I have to trick myself into it, and there isn’t an arm exercise that makes you think you’re having fun.

There are two more bridal showers before the wedding.  Then the wedding is on a Friday, which complicates things for Hunny job-wise.  He was supposed to be in a wedding two years ago.  He asked off for that Thursday and Friday because it was out of state.  He was told he conditionally had those days off, then they were taken from him.  We weren’t able to attend, and our friends had to find someone else to fill his spot.  This wedding isn’t out of state, but we’re kind of in the dark about where we are supposed to be and when.  I’m just praying it all works out.

Then there are the birthdays I have to get ready for.  My father’s is probably the most nerve-wracking.  I love him dearly, but he drives me crazy sometimes.  I ask him what he wants for his birthday and I get, “I haven’t really thought about it.”  Last year for Christmas, I bought him one of his favorite TV shows from the 90’s on DVD.  It sat on the shelf, intact in its shrink-wrap, for months.

I also have to gather the Christmas decorations from my parents garage and put them up in our apartment.  I have to put together some handmade Christmas gifts and gather the materials I need to wrap them.  Thinking of all the things I need to do makes me feel physically sick, which brings me to you.

I don’t want you to get lost in the mix.  I want to share what little is left of my Christmas cheer with you.  So I devised a plan.  I am going to give you 12 Days of Christmas {Polite and (paranoid) Style}.  Starting December 13th, I’m going to share something with you daily leading up to the most important day – Christmas.  Between now and then, I’m taking a hiatus from posting.

I hope all my American readers had a blessed Thanksgiving.  A blessed weekend to all!  I’ll see you next month!

30 Days, 30 Movies {Day 23} Original vs. Remake or (Father of the Bride)

Normally, the original movie is far and beyond the better film.  That a fast and firm rule.  When I find out that a movie is a remake, I automatically watch the original for comparison.  I always think, Why can’t they just make it the same or better?  Why ruin a perfectly good movie? 

Did you know that Father of the Bride was a remake?  I didn’t.  I thought the Steve Martin version was original.  Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor made Father of the Bride in 1950.

VS

In what may be my most surprising move yet, I have to say that the remake of Father of the Bride is better (It’s shocking, isn’t it?).  How was a movie that was almost shot for shot the same as the original version be better?  Casting.

Steve Martin is a better Mr. Banks.  He brings heart to the role that Spencer Tracy couldn’t.  I know.  Spencer Tracy is a cinematic legend and Steve Martin is a banjo player.  That does not negate the fact that Steve Martin made Stanley Banks lovable and root worthy, as in you are rooting for him.  The audience can tell that he loves his daughter and his family despite his goofy behavior.  Spencer Tracy as Stanley Banks is awful.  He’s a curmudgeon and a tight wad, and you feel sorry for his wife and daughter.  There is no empathy for the Father of the Bride, which is kind of important considering that is the title.

When talking about what makes the remake special, you cannot forget Martin Short as the wedding coordinator.  He’s amazingly hilarious. I love his crazy accent (Where is he supposed to be from?  Does anyone know?), and the fact that Mr. Banks seems to be the only one who cannot understand it makes it even more hilarious.

How was everyone’s Labor Day weekend?  Did you stay at home and watch a movie or go to the theatre?  Hunny and I were going to go to the theatre, but there wasn’t anything we felt worth our money to see…

And the original:

It’s Not Our Anniversary Yet or (Top Ten Reasons I Love Hunny)

Kendra from Southern Disposition dedicated her blog to her seventh wedding anniversary to her husband Eric.  It is an adorable love letter and declaration of love to her husband, and I had to share it with Hunny.  After hearing all the ways this guy is awesome, it made Hunny feel less than awesome.  He thought I didn’t think he was good enough and he let his insecurities get in the way of our day.

Well, let me tell you something.  My Hunny is beyond awesome.

Top Ten Reasons I LOVE Hunny

1. He sings songs to me and about me.  When I was younger and dumber  naive, I wanted to meet and fall in love with a musician.  I would be his muse and he would write chart topping love songs that would inspire the world to believe in love again.  Instead, I have a husband who sings about our love to me.  I am the only one who gets to hear these precious songs (Unless you’re in our apartment while he takes a shower.  You can hear people talking on the street in our apartment.  I’m serious.), which makes them all the more special.
2. He communicates with me.  Even on days like today when it seems like we’re both on the wrong page about what the other one said or wants to do, he points it out.  He wants to understand me and he wants me to understand him.
3. He shares with me.  I know his aspirations, hopes, dreams, and fears.
4. He trusts me.  That is probably the reason I know all of his hopes and dreams.  He knows that I won’t embarrass him by sharing something he doesn’t want others to know.  I have bragged on him many times about his accomplishments, and he was a little embarrassed, but in a good way.
5. He is humble.  He is beyond talented.  He is so blessed.  He’s a writer and a self taught artist.  He also taught himself how to play guitar.  But if you met him, you’d never know these things because he never brags about himself.
   

   One of My Favorites of His Paintings

6. He is proud of me.  Whenever I am being overly and needlessly critical of myself, he reprimands me with kindness and compassion.  He gently reminds me who I really am.
7. He can make a steak like nobody’s business.  When we go out to a restaurant, I never get steak because I know that I can get a better steak at home from my man.
8. He is loyal.  Not only to me, but to sports teams and athletes.  He is not a fair weather friend or fan.  He has been a Phoenix Suns fan since he was a little boy (Charles Barkley was on the team then).  He is still a Steve Nash fan even after this snub…
   

   Hunny holding an orange shirt as Steve Nash runs past

9. He loves my family and my family loves him.  It makes life so much more fulfilling when your family is close with the family you grew up in.
10. He loves God.  He loves God more than he loves me.  That is really important because I will fail him.  I will and have hurt his feelings and be insensitive, but God will never let him down.  Since Hunny’s first love is so strong and so unwavering, it takes the pressure of being perfect off our relationship.  He doesn’t look for his identity through our love or marriage.  He knows who he is in his relationship with God.  Our love is just the icing on the cake.

Today is not our anniversary.  Today is not Valentine’s Day.  There is no better day than today to make sure Hunny knows that he is special and loved.