So, it begins.

The terrible twos (aka Allen’s 2nd birthday) have arrived. Here’s the little man. Don’t say “He looks just like his father!” or I’ll make you suffer looking at all my baby photos.

We celebrated his birthday by quickly devouring a Cold Stone ice cream cake and putting him to bed so we could watch the Presidential debate with our politically correct (because they’re also democrats) friends Joe and Claudia. We paused the DVR so much to have colorful discussions, it took us close to 4 hours to watch a 90 minute program.

But that was weeks ago. Let’s move on to right now.

We picked the perfect day to change our cars tires to the studded snow variety just in time for it to start, yes, snowing. This is not good. Not only did we have a short summer (I think we might have had two sunny days back-to-back), it’s supposed to be a cold winter. I guess I don’t mind cold, but please, don’t make it long. Maybe I should have titled this post “Snow, it begins.” Bah.

Favorite movies of 2005.

My standard disclaimer: I can’t guarantee all of these were released in 2005, I just watched them in 2005.

Crash. Best film released in 2005, if you ask me.

A Very Long Engagement. Wonderful narrative, outdone only by the art direction. Wow.

Apres Vous. Daniel Auteuil is his usual quirky self.

Dear Frankie. Sweet. I absolutely didn’t recognize Gerard Butler from Phantom of the Opera.

Maria Full of Grace. Not bad for a movie full of debuts. Not bad at all.

The Station Agent. If you haven’t noticed already, I’m catching up on movies prior to this year… Another good one.

The Mayor of Casterbridge. Must watch twice before you die.

Harrison’s Flowers. At this point, you might only find this DVD used.

Dancing at Lughnasa. One for a particularly quiet mood.

Bedrooms and Hallways. While I was on a James Purefoy binge. Good luck finding it.

Feast of July. An oldie but terribly goodie.

Intimate Strangers. Classic French film making.

Favorite movies of 2004.

My standard disclaimer: I can’t guarantee all of these movies were released in 2004, I just watched them in 2004.

Les Invasions Barbares. An intellectual treat.

Girl With A Pearl Earring. Amazing art direction on this film.

I Capture the Castle. A truly great coming-of-age story.

The Magdalene Sisters. Goodness. Not for the faint of heart.

Something’s Gotta Give. I want her house in the Hamptons.

The Human Stain. Don’t be put off by the preview. This movie is well worth watching.

The Lord of The Rings Trilogy. My childhood reading fantasy, brought magically to life.

Love, Actually. I really loved this movie, to the very end.

The Madness of King George. Every once in a while, a movie like this is worth watching over again.

Shall We Dance? Before the Richard Gere version, you must see this first.

Bend it Like Beckham. Those of you who were parentally repressed will relate to this great movie.

Sliding Doors. Gwenyth’s finest fake British accent yet.

Favorite movies of 2003.

My standard disclaimer: I can’t guarantee all of these were released in 2003, I just watched them in 2003.

Kukushka (The Cuckoo). A charming fable about love, language, and enmity — and saunas.

À la Folie… Pas du Tout (He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not). Completely unexpected. And you can’t beat Paris as a backdrop.

Hable Con Ella (Talk to Her). Different, but very compelling.

Waking Ned Divine. I watched this movie a couple years ago. It was even better this time.

Zus & Zo. They say this is Hannah and Her Sisters in Dutch. I say this would be a stretch even for Woody Allen.

The Hours. I didn’t know whether they could pull off the book, but man is this film intense.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Another successful magical ride.

The Recruit. Move over Brad Pitt, Colin Ferrel has arrived.

The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. It’s somewhat contrived, but the performances are well-tuned.

Mostly Martha. I took a chance on this movie, not even knowing it was in German. Fantastic flim.

Possession. For good or bad, I’ll watch any film with Jeremey Northam, and this was great to the very last scene.

About A Boy. There’s more to this film than meets the eye (and I’m not referring to Hugh Grant’s hair.)

No brainer.

When it snows here, people really mean business and stay off the streets. The list of closings on the local news channels is pretty impressive, considering half the snow that fell is already melted. I told Dean that school had been cancelled and he looked at me like, “You’re kidding, right?”

My Mom turned the family reunion (her side of the family) planning over to me. I think even she realized that it’s too emotional for her. It’s hard getting in touch with everyone and not worrying a little bit whether they’ll even come. I’ve got pretty thick skin about it.

We begin landscaping our backyard as soon as the ground dries out from the rain and snow. I say “we” but really mean that nice man I mentioned earlier. Yes, I still think he’s a nice man, even though it is going to cost us more than we hoped. Oh well. This way I’ll be sure to do the gardening myself. I am really looking forward to that part.

Last night I watched the ridiculous reunion of Joe and Zora (from Joe Millionaire) while I was running on the treadmill. I found it hard to believe that not one person they interviewed off the street had the nerve to say, “I couldn’t help myself but watch to see if this man, who hasn’t an active brain cell in his head, could really pull it off.” I didn’t think I’d make it past the first episode until he was asked his middle name and froze. That was priceless.