The 2010 Gist List

The New Year usually brings a slew of resolutions often left in the back of your closet with your broken Manolo Blahniks and too-small-but-too-cute-to-throw-away summer shorts. But resolutions give us a chance to reflect the changes we want (or need) in our life, and then promise to follow through. I'm not talking about the 20 lbs you wanted to shed by February or the penny-pinching you promised your pocketbook. It's New Years, not a miracle. While we look to the past at the good times, we're looking forward to the coming year and the promises it brings us. Here are my resolutions for 2010.

1. Appreciate the people in my life for what they are rather than being frustrated by what they're not.
I surround myself with beautiful people, inside and out. That's a fact. And sometimes it's a fact I need to remind myself more often than blame others for my problems, and just laugh my problems away instead.

2. Maintain a sense of humor that carries me through all of life's little bumps.
It's not hard to make me laugh. I was reminded in the final months of 2009 that the right attitude takes you a lot further than the wrong attitude. Plus, a good attitude is contagious, just like a smile.

3. Follow through or shame on you.
I love making promises, and I love keeping them even more. But sometimes I promise too many things to too many people. This year I resolve to focus my energy, and to follow through with quality work rather than quantity.

4. Hear other people's stories.
I can talk and talk and talk all about me, almost anytime, any day. And while confidence is a trait I'm not short of, my listening skills are a muscle that need to be toned this year. Let others steer the topic of conversation rather than feel pressured to keep talking.

Image from fitsugar.com

Christmas Cheer

Now that I'm holed up in a hotel on an overnight layover due to flight complications during this holiday travel season (a la Home Alone 2), I've come to appreciate Macaulay Culkin's request for three scoops of ice cream instead of two. Now after spending almost 12 hours between Syracuse and Los Angeles in Philadelphia, I've had the luxury of watching various Christmas movies on ABC, FX, CW, and many many more channels on my 36" flat screen in my hotel room. Here's my top ten so far:

Elf (2003)
After inadvertently wreaking havoc on the elf community due to his ungainly size, a man raised as an elf at the North Pole is sent to the U.S. in search of his true identity. Not only Will Farrell deliver in this instant Christmas classic, but he brought us Christmas cheer singing loud for all to hear. I'll admit, I pop in this DVD even outside of the Christmas season, and it's always the first one on my list to watch come the day after Thanksgiving.

White Christmas (1954)
My mother made my family watch this movie every Christmas Eve. It's not animated, with little kid-targeted humor, and the allusions and storyline went over my head back when I was ten. Then my mother insisted my sisters and I learned the "Sisters" duet. As soon as the successful song-and-dance team that becomes romantically involved with a sister act (and my mother) had me crooning along, how could I not love the movie. Growing up with this classic brings me back to my mother roasting chestnuts, and my father stoking the open fire (no joke).

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Inside a snowflake, like the one on your sleeve, there happened a story you must see to believe. Back before Taylor Momsen was Queen Bee on Gossip Girl, she was a funny-nosed Who from Whoville. And maybe now it's because I'm older and I understand the "grown-up" jokes going on in the film, but Jim Carrey divulged into the Grinch character and still has me rolling on the floor.

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
Though the number of "Home Alone"s have grown over the years (what are we at now? Number 5?), Number 2 takes the cake. A 10-year old runs around NYC with his dad's credit card while his family worries about his safe return. Sure, he doesn't have the home field advantage like he did in the first, but the witty kid still catches the bad guys in the end. And maybe I'm biased because I'm trying to make it home for the holidays like Macaulay Culkin, but I know I have my two turtledove ornament around here somewhere.

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
A classic. I watched it every year growing up with my family, and it's still my go-to holiday movie. Heartwarming and simple, it always brings my family together. Because that's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown!

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Though I would technically classify this as a Halloween movie, Jack the Skeleton lasts us from October 31st to December 25th. It's a original idea that Tim Burton animates and infatuates us with. While "Nightmare" wasn't originally on my list, my co-RA has this movie running on loop in our floor lounge, and it's definitely caught me up in discovering Christmas Town with Jack.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
It would be wrong to exclude the misfit reindeer and his friends who are looking for a place that will accept them. It's an elaboration of the Christmas tale of the red-nosed hero of Christmas that takes us on an adventure across the North Pole and back that never gets old.

Images from imdb.com

Holly Jolly Holiday Playlist

'Tis the Season

1. Bizarre Christmas Incident – Ben Folds

2. Rudolph – Jack Johnson

3. All I Want for Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey

4. White Christmas – Taylor Swift

5. Jingle Bell Rock – Aly & AJ

6. Run Rudolph Run – Hanson

7. Latke Clan – The LeeVees

8. Baby It’s Cold Outside – Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey

9. Happy Xmas (War Is Over) – Maroon 5

10. I’ll Be Home for Christmas – Rascal Flatts

11. The Little Drummer Boy – Sean Kingston

12. Ay Ay Ay It’s Christmas – Ricky Martin

13. Hanukkah Blessings – Barenaked Ladies

14. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) – Leighton Meester

15. Last Christmas – CASCADA

16. Carol of the Bells – Emmy Rossum

17. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year – NSYNC

18. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town – Bruce Springsteen

19. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas – Tyler Hilton

20. Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree – Miley Cyrus

Image from celebratestudios.com