New Year's Resolution

The month of January is drawing to an end and I thought before it got too far into the new year, I should record some of my resolutions or goals for the year. So here they are in no particular order.

1.) Exercise more.
2.) Read more.
3.) Stop watching so much TV.
4.) Travel someplace(s) new.
5.) See a Broadway show.
6.) Don't let work stress me out.
7.) Go to bed earlier.
8.) Walk to work more (that could fulfill #1 too!)
9.) Find a new job.
10.) Put myself out there for more dating opportunities.

Yuck?

Umm, this is called the Tampon Organic Catnip Crocheted Toy. What a bizarre idea. (via)

Christmas movie review: 2010 Wrap-Up

I had one more I was going to try to watch this week but who knows when I'll get to it so instead I'll just do my wrap-up post. Not a good year for Christmas movies, with nothing scoring higher than an A-. That's never happened before.

A-
The Christmas Blessing
James Patterson's Sundays at Tiffanys
Unanswered Prayers
Holiday Baggage

B+
A Dog Named Christmas

B
On Strike for Christmas
Home for the Holidays
Christmas on Chestnut Street
November Christmas

B-
Christmas Cupid
Christmas Crash
A Dad for Christmas

C+
The Christmas Clause

C
The Ultimate Christmas Present

C-
How to Marry a Billionaire: A Christmas Tale

Christmas movie review: The Christmas Blessing

The Christmas Blessing is one of those CBS ones that now airs regularly on Lifetime. I'm not sure if I had seen it but it's sort of a sequel to The Christmas Shoes, which I watched and reviewed in 2007. The young boy in The Christmas Shoes is now all grown up and the main character, played by Neil Patrick Harris, of The Christmas Blessing. Neil's character has become a doctor but when he loses a patient he heads back to his hometown to reconsider his career and reconnect with his father. While Neil's character reminisces about his deceased mother all the time, his father is having difficulty moving on and is trying desperately not to wallow in his grief all the time - a task that is made difficult when Neil shows up. Neil volunteers at a playground and meets a sick motherless kid, which reminds him of himself. He also meets a teacher, played by Rebecca Gayheart, who also ends up sick. What cheeriness!

Despite the depressing subject matter and overlooking some major story holes (At least 20 years has passed since the events in The Christmas Shoes but these characters carry on as if it happened yesterday - or 3 years ago. Another glaring problem is that Rob Lowe looks EXACTLY the same despite the time passed - they didn't even try to age him.), this is pretty good. It's well-acted, touching and emotional. It definitely ranks as one of the better ones I watched this year, although truth be told this was a bad crop.

Rating: A-

Christmas movie review: A Dog Named Christmas

A Dog Named Christmas aired on CBS last year and sat on my Tivo for a full year before I finally got around to watching it. It's about a young man, Todd, who is mentally slow so still living on a farm with his parents. He loves animals and hears a story on the radio about the local animal shelter asking residents to take in dogs for the holiday season while their staffing is low. The dogs can be returned on December 26. Todd begs his parents to let him adopt a Christmas dog and finally they relent, despite the fact that the prospect of having a dog brings back Vietnam flashbacks for Todd's dad. Don't ask. Of course, once the dog arrives - nameless, they call him "Christmas" - everyone settles in and loves the dog and he changes the family. The dog protects the family and when they return it to the shelter, it escapes and comes running back to the farm, where they all lived happily ever after.

I enjoyed the movie - the CBS ones tend to be pretty good - but it was very slow-moving. Very slow-moving.

Rating - B+