Killed Two Birds With One Stone

So, by finally watching It's a Wonderful Life, I was able to accomplish two of my list items at once.

Not only was I able to cross of my "I" movie for #30 - Watch a movie I've never seen before starting with each letter of the alphabet, but I also counted it towards #72 - Watch a classic movie I've never seen before.

Cheating? Maybe. But I don't think it is.

It's a classic movie. It even says so on the back. It premiered in 1946, and it was listed as the #1 most inspirational movie of all time by the American Film Institute. And, as I promised, I watched it in black and white instead of the colourized version which my DVD also provided. Everyone knows a movie isn't really a classic unless it's in black and white!

It truly is a heart-warming story. And a perfect reminder at Christmas to be grateful for what we have and enjoy every moment rather than grumbling and feeling down on our luck.

I'll admit it: I cried. I saw a little of myself in George Bailey, especially this year. It's been a difficult year, and I've spent a lot of time wondering what I've done to deserve this hard luck. No, I've never been so woe-is-me as to find myself on a bridge contemplating jumping (but if I were, I'd hope my guardian angel sent to save me was an adorable old man like Clarence Odbody!) However, it is sometimes easier to be brought down by the bad instead of focusing on the good.

Loving family. Great friends. A roof over one's head. The strength to endure the bad days. A job. Food on the table.

And knowing there are people who would be lost without you.

It was a nice reminder at this time of year. And one that I think I needed.

Merry Christmas to everyone :) Looking forward to crossing more off the list over the holidays and in 2011!!

Another Movie Completed for # 30

I swear, I can't believe I haven't crossed off more movies for #30 - Watch 26 movies I've never seen before starting with each letter of the alphabet. I'm a movie-aholic. If time permitted, I'd watch a different movie every night. During the summer, before I started my 101 list, I had rented many different movies that I'd never seen before.

But life seems to have been busy lately. As much as I'd love to have seen more flicks, I haven't had a chance. Haven't even been to the theatre in ages! Oh, how I miss it...the smell of hot buttery popcorn...the big screen, the comfy seats...

I really need to go to a movie over the holidays.

But I realized - rather belatedly - that after I saw Disney's A Christmas Carol last week, that I should be adding it to my list! Sure, I've seen different versions of Charles Dickens' beloved Christmas classic over the years, but I'd never seen this particular adaptation yet.

Jim Carrey made a perfect animated Scrooge. The whole movie was wonderful. For my recap on the movie, you can click here.

I'm looking forward to crossing another few items off the list in the next few days. I purchased It's A Wonderful Life from Amazon, and it arrived yesterday. It's unbelievable that I've never seen this holiday favourite. I'm also going to consider it my "classic movie". (I'm even going to watch it in black and white, even though the DVD I bought has a colourized version on it).

I'll let you know what I think of It's a Wonderful Life soon!

#47 - {Tentative} Check!!

Last night, I cleaned my house from top to bottom. And I tackled one of the most daunting tasks I've faced in a long time.

Cleaning my closet.

To say it was messy would be an understatement. It was a disasterpiece. And that is why it was #47 on my list - Organize my closet in a way that it STAYS organized for more than a week.

I'm not a messy person, really. I like things tidy and in order. Occasionally I let things get cluttered and out of hand, but I usually like to nip the messy-ness in the bud.

My mother calls me a pack rat, so I try to keep that in check, too. A few times a year I like to just haul everything out of all my little hiding places, go through it, and chuck whatever has become old or unnecessary. When I watch "Hoarders" on TLC and scoff at their disgusting habits, I also hear that little voice in my head reminding me that my tendencies to collect useless crap could land me on that show someday.

I won't let that happen.

So while I would have much rather spent the night on the couch watching a movie or reading a book - especially since it was a rainy, dreary night - I cleaned my room. And did a massive overhaul of the closet.

When I first moved into the house, and picked this room, the closet was one of the main features I loved about it. It's much bigger than the one I grew up with at home, and I never thought I'd be able to fill all the space.

Wrong.

Clothes piled on the shelf at the back of the closet. Bar weighed down by clothes haphazardly hung. Shoe boxes and gift bags and random other crap all over the floor. Then, the clothes piled on the shelf start overflowing, co-mingling with the crap on the floor.

It had got to the point where I couldn't find anything I wanted in there. Literally. And the rest of my room was starting to look like a dump, too, because I had no room in my closet to put stuff, like recently purchased Christmas gifts. It was driving me nuts.

This is all the crap on the floor that I couldn't put in my closet because there was no room...ahhh!!!

But the only time I seemed to get the urge to clean it was at 7 in the morning on a work day, when I didn't have time to dive into it.

So last night was the night. And I started by hauling everything out of the floor of the closet first. Shoes. Old gift bags and wrapping paper. Murder Mystery crap. Canada Day Committee stuff. Old Karate equipment. Purses and wallets and shoe bags. When did I ever end up with so much STUFF?!?

Before

After

After organizing the bottom of the closet, I started hauling out all the clothes off the shelf. I had a mountain of shirts on the floor. I wish I'd taken a picture of it. I spent over an hour sorting through clothes, tossing old stuff that no longer fit into one pile, and neatly folding the rest into specific piles: T-shirts, dressy shirts, tank tops, long-sleeve shirts, sweaters, pajamas. Everything piled neatly on my bed. You couldn't even see the comforter. It was incredible. I really need to think of that the next time I say I have nothing to wear!...

Before

After

So after transferring it all back into the closet, I was finally able to stand back and sigh with relief. A neat closet. Or at least neater than it had been in a long time.

I ended up with enough space to put all the Christmas gifts in there, and still have room for my laundry basket! Yessss!!

And then I turned around and saw all the "garbage" and unwanted clothes. Yikes. So I spent another long while packing up clothes to give away, throwing out the stuff that I wouldn't give to anyone, and getting the room back in order.

By 10:30 PM, I had it all dusted, vacuumed, mopped, and finally...finally...clean.

So this one gets a tentative check. Because while it's sparkling right now, time will only tell if it will still be in order by next week! ;)