Things I Love Thursday, Except It's Friday

I cannot believe that tomorrow is Christmas! I am looking forward to seeing friends and family over the next few days even though my heart is breaking a little bit thinking about my parents and sister in Illinois and how much I miss them. I guess I just have to make flying home for next Christmas one of my goals for next year.

Here's some of the things I loved this week!

• Our family holiday card turned out really well this year. I decided that I was not going to put one together this year because of the time it can take. But in the end I knew that I still really wanted our babies on a card. I used pictures of everyone that I already had and it came together fabulously.

• I found the instructions for tiny hat ornaments on Arian Armstrong's blog and decided to make some to go with my holiday cards. They turned out pretty well.

• One of the older gentlemen I work with always gives me a present at the holidays because he is constantly asking me to do favors for him at work (mostly having to do with the computer because he has never used one). Of course I would do the work anyway because I adore him and his wife. Sometimes the gifts are a little out of left field, although always appreciated. This year he gave me a very interesting bracelet, which is awesome because I am so into eclectic jewelry right now.
  

• I watched quite a few movies over the last few days since it rained and rained and rained all week. One thing I really like about instant streaming movies with Netflix is that I can find obscure documentaries that I love. Here's a few a little info on the ones I enjoyed this week:
  

I absolutely loved Exit Through the Gift Shop: A Banksy Film, which is about the street art culture. It focuses on a man named Thierry Guetta who immigrated from France. After filming his cousin, Invader, place his artwork around France, Guetta becomes obsessed with filming street artists, including Shepard Fairy who created the famous Obama/Hope poster. But it was not the story of Guetta that I enjoyed (many people wonder if the film was a true story or another work by Banksy). What I loved about the film was witnessing these artists plan out their works and attempt to display them in public without getting caught.

At the end of the film, Guetta begins calling him Mr. Brainwash and constructs his own art show. I honestly did not like his work and wondered if it could even be considered art. Is it really art if you hire graphic artists to create a piece using your "vision"? Is it really art if you take another artist's piece and tweak it?

When You're Strange: A Film About the Doors was an an interesting take on the band and the larger than life figure that was Jim Morrison. The film included quite a bit of footage from a film Morrison made that was never released to the public. I honestly thought it was an actor portraying Morrison until I read the film info. I am always curious about people's stories and definitely enjoyed the film, but it definitely makes you wonder what would have happened to the band if Jim Morrison had not died at 27. Would they have just faded away instead of becoming such as huge piece of rock and roll in the sixties.

Blood into Wine is a documentary about Maynard James Keenan, lead singer of Tool, and Eric Glomski and their endeavor to establish a winery in Arizona. I am not a wine fan myself, but everything that goes into the complicated process of producing a successful wine is crazy interesting. Plus there is the element of growing grapes in an area not known for it and the stigma of being a rock star with a hobby.

• And of course spending time with family! Rommel was able to leave work early on Thursday, so we were able to go out to eat and browse a couple of vintage places. I am still a little uncomfortable in restaurants, probably because there are not a lot of distractions, but I was not anxious and that is a little victory for me.
  

Happy Holidays Everyone!!!