Merry Christmas Everyone

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

I wish you and yours a very special Christmas filled with family, laughter, love, and fun. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your kind words and your welcoming me into the blogging community.

Favorite Fictional Character --- Santa Claus

I love Santa Claus is all his incarnations but the version that Rankin & Bass brings to life in the TV special, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, is hands down my favorite. This was their take on the origins of Santa Claus and attempts to answer questions concerning many aspects of the Santa Claus legend.

The story begins in Sombertown, a depressing village where everything is grey and dark. Santa is introduced as a baby who is left at the door of Burgermeister Meisterburger, the ruler of the town. He quickly sends the foundling baby to the orphanage but a strong storm, and some helpful animals, sends the baby to the other side of the Mountains of the Whispering Winds instead. He is then found by a family of elves named Kringle and they adopt him and name him Kris.

Kris grows up to be a fine young man and vows to restore the Kringles as the toy makers to the king. Tante Kringle, the queen of the family, gives Kris his own Kringle suite (hence the red/white outfit) and sends Kris off with a bag of toys for the kids of Sombertown. Unknown to them however is the new rule by the Meisterburger outlawing all toys.

Kris quickly learns the lay of the land from the children and the school teacher, Miss Jessica. He quickly wins them over and fun begins anew. The rest of the movie tells the story of how the toys keep getting taken away and the new tricks Kris comes up with to deliver them to the children (chimneys and stockings to hide them in come into play).

Eventually Kris is named an outlaw and is forced to run away with Jessica, the Kringles, and a few other friends including his newly flying reindeer. He grows a beard to hide his appearance and the Tante informs Kris of the name tag around his neck when he was born that named him Claus. The find there way to the North Pole and set up shop there.

The rest is history.

I love this movie, when I watch it I feel like a kid again. It brings me back to that place where I believed in all the magic of Christmas, when Santa Claus was still real and I would stress about how he would deliver presents when we didn't have a chimney. Now I'm allowed to share this with my son and when we watch it together I can see the wonder and joy in Aidan's eyes and I find myself wondering if maybe Santa Claus is really real. He is in my heart and the heart of millions of children.

10 Of My Favorite Christmas Movies

Since I've already listed my 10 favorite Christmas songs I figured I should list 10 of my favorite Christmas movies as well. Now this list is not to imply that these are my only favorite Christmas movies, I have tons of them and will probably share 10 more next year. I hope I don't have to explain that Christmas movies includes TV specials as well, some of the best ones were made for TV. So with no further ado I present Wordsmithonia's Top 10 Christmas Movies. All of these are available on DVD by the way, just in case this inspires someone to go buy a late Christmas movie to enjoy.

How can you not love "A Charlie Brown Christmas"? It is a Christmas staple and should be mandatory viewing for all during this time of the year. Between the music and the poor little Christmas tree this TV special has held a place in my heart since I first saw it as a kid and continues to do so today.

I am a humongous Barbara Stanwyck fan and "Christmas in Connecticut" is one of her most endearing movies. It's also a romantic comedy gem full of misunderstandings and love set against a beautiful white Christmas.

I had only seen "The Christmas Toy" once as a kid but the story had stayed with me my entire life so when I found it on DVD last year I was so incredibly excited. What child doesn't wish their toys would come to life and play with each other when no humans are around? It's a story of courage, friendship, and learning to share the limelight. Classic Christmas story.

"Frosty The Snowman" has appeared two other times on my blog this year. The song about his life was featured in the 10 Of My Favorite Christmas Songs post and was a featured in a FFC post. Well here he is again as the star of his own TV special. This animated classic about our favorite living snowman has enchanted me for years and never fails to bring a smile to my face.

"Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas!" is pure fun and entertainment the addition of Boris Karloff as the narrator is simply the icing on the cake. If you couldn't tell I'm a huge fan of the cartoon version not the abysmal Jim Carey movie.

Jack Skellington misguided attempt to steal Christmas for his own was the basic storyline to Tim Burton's " The Nightmare Before Christmas". This was and still is a beautifully crafted work of art that captures the imagination. Tim Burton is a genius, which he proved with this movie.

Like Frosty before him this is Rudolph's third mention this month on my blog. He to was part of the 10 Of My Favorite Songs post and starred in his very own FFC post as well. This classic tale of "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" is a endearing today as it was all those years ago. This is the perfect tale of a "misfit" who finds his own way to stand out and become someone.

"Snow" is an adorable ABC Family Channel movie that stars Tom Cavanagh as the new Santa who is tyring to track down his missing reindeer. Along the way he meets the girl of his dreams and makes her Mrs. Santa. I just found out there was a sequel to this so I will be hunting that down as well.

"The Ref" is my "Die Hard", it's the one Christmas movie that some may not consider a Christmas movie but because it takes place during Christmas it counts. Dennis Leary plays Gus, a cat burglar, who takes a family hostage on Christmas Eve. Little did anyone know that this was the catalyst the family needed to bring them close again.

Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera Allen all star in the Christmas spectacular that is "White Christmas". That's all you need to know about this one other than that it is a brilliant musical that never fails to get me in the Christmas mood. Now if only I could get a white Christmas this year.

Alaina Reed-Amini, 1946-2009

Alaina Reed-Amini, who played the wonderful Olivia on "Sesame Street" as well as starring on "227", passed away from breast cancer today at the age of 63. She was a part of my childhood that I will never be able to forget and I owe her a big "Thank You" for the hours of enjoyment that she, along with her cast mates, provided me as a young child. She will be missed by all those she helped entertain and educate.

Mailbox Monday for 12/21/09

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page. This was a light week for me since I've been concentrating on gifts for others.

I finally bought the sequel to one of my favorite books. The Fire by Katherine Neville is the sequel to The Eight.

I won the audio version of Hope for Animals and Their World by Jane Goodall with Thane Maynard and Gail Hudson from Beth at Beth's Book Review Blog.

Award Time X 3

I decided to post these three awards together since they all ask the recipient to convey large amounts of information about ourselves, so this way all the wonderful tidbits can be found together. I want to apologize to those who have given these awards to me since I'm been so slow in getting them passed along. You guys are wonderful and your kindness means so much to me.



Carol from Carol's Notebook passed this on to me and I am so excited by it. I think the award itself is wonderful to look at and it's nice to know that my blog is enjoyed by others. Her blog is fantastic and I encourage everyone to go visit and say hi.

Now the rule for this one is to pass it on to 7 other bloggers and tell everyone 7 things about yourself.

I would like to pass this along to the following blogs:

• Laurel at Creations by Laurel-Rain Snow. She always has a kind word for her fellow bloggers and has a brilliant writing voice.
• Ceri at Not in the Pink. Hilarious blogger who puts me in a better mood just by visiting her blog.
• Michelle at The Christmas Spirit. Michelle was already a brilliant blogger but by starting a blog that is about Christmas all year round, she cemented herself in my pantheon of brilliant bloggers.
• Stephanie at Misfit Salon. If you have not checked this blog out you have to do so right away. Stupendous doesn't even begin to describe this fantastic place to visit.
• Nely at All About {n}. Great blogger who happens to be hosting a great holiday reading challenge that I'm enjoying quite a bit.
• Tasha at Heidenkind's Hideaway. A lovely blogger who brings an interesting perspective that I normally would not think of on my own.
• Jaime at Revenge of the Book Nerds! Jaime has been one of the nicest bloggers I've met since starting my own blog and I appreciate her kindness more than I can say.

Now for 7 things about myself, though trying to say 7 things that I haven't mentioned before may be a little hard.

1. From the Summer after my 5th grade till high school we traveled with a carnival so I would go to a different school about every two weeks depending on what town we were in. We did Winter in one location though, either San Marcos, TX or Skiatook, OK.
2. Taking custody of my nephew was the best decision I have ever made in my life.
3. Becoming an Oceanographer was one of my dream jobs as a kid.
4. My guilty pleasure TV show was and is still, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer.
5. Sweet potato and butterscotch cream pies are my two favorite sweets during the holidays.
6. I'm in love with ferns for some reason. I can never have enough of them around the house.
7. I want to retire back to MN.

This was another award I received from the wonderful Carol at Carol's Notebook. This award is such a compliment, who doesn't want to be Over the Top?

The rules are pretty simple. Answer the following questions with Single Word answers then pass this along to 5 other bloggers. Make sure you let them know about it though.

• Your Cell Phone? Gone
• Your Hair? Short
• Your Mother? Biker
• Your Father? Passed
• Your Favorite Food? Seafood
• Your Dream Last Night? Odd
• Your Favorite Drink? Tea
• Your Dream/Goal? Published
• What Room Are You In? TV
• Your Hobby? Reading
• Your Fear? Clowns
• Where Do You Want To Be In Six Years? Italy
• Where Were You Last Night? Work
• Something That You Aren't? Bored
• Muffins? Cranberry
• Wish List Item? Massage
• Where Did You Grow Up? Everywhere
• Last Thing You Did? Ate
• What Are You Wearing? Shirt
• Your TV? On
• Your Pets? None
• Friends? Fun
• Your Life? Comfortable
• Your Mood? Tired
• Missing Someone? Yes
• Vehicle? Gallant
• Something You Aren't Wearing? Shoes
• Your Favorite Store? B&N
• Your Favorite Color? Blue
• When Was The Last Time You Laughed? Earlier
• Last Time You Cried? Movie
• Your Best Friend? Frankie
• One Place You Go To Over And Over Again? Work
• Facebook? No
• Favorite Place To Eat? Home

I'm going to pass this on to the following blogs:

• Melissa at My World. One of my favorite bloggers and B&N friend in the world.
• Sheila at One Persons Journey Through a World of Books. Kind hearted blogger who has shown me nothing but kindness.
• Deb at BookMagic. She is the whole reason I started blogging to begin with and is a fantastic example to follow.
• Zia at My Life In Not So Many Words. Great blog and twitter friend who always has something wonderful to say.
• Tracy at The True Book Addict's Sister. A new blogger on the block who has a unique voice that always keeps my interest.

This award I got from two great bloggers and they are both deserving of all the respect and thanks I can give them. Sheila of One Persons Journey Through a World of Books and Melissa of My World both gave this really tough looking award.

Here are the rules for this award. You must name 10 true and honest things about yourself then pass this along to 7 other bloggers.

1. Another dream occupation I briefly considered as a kid was working as a chef.
2. I was in love with all things dinosaur as a kid and could never get enough of them. Toys, sheets, books, puzzles, models, and the list goes on. You name it, I wanted it.
3. I still love cheesy bands from the 80s; Journey, Foreigner, Chicago, and Boston to name just a few.
4. The older you get the less patience I have for you. I've been thinking about going back to school to teach and when I first started thinking about it, I wanted to teach HS English. Then I realized the first time that one kid asks me the same question more than twice I would probably be called to the Principal's office. So now I'm thinking about 1st or 2nd grade since I have infinite patience with younger kids.
5. I love the sight of a Christmas tree lit up in a dark room. There is something so peaceful about it.
6. I want to take a year and visit the Philippines, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Vietnam. Whether it will ever happen or not is another matter.
7. I love snow. I could never get enough of it and the sight of a snow covered forest makes me smile like nothing else.
8. My favorite bird is the common loon.
9. Pepperoni, black olives, and cheese on a thin crust is the best pizza in the world.
10. I like to put a little bit of barbecue sauce in my mustard potato salad.

I will be passing this along to the following blogs:

• Bella at A Bibliophile's Bookshelf. Her blog never bores me and I add to my reading list every time I visit.
• Alexia at Alexia's Books and Such. Fantastic blogger who never fails to entertain and has a killer Balderdash talent going on.
• Elena at With Extra Pulp. Concise and articulate writer who gives you her honest review and does it in a way that entertains and informs.
• Jennifer at Rundpinne. Her Christmas decorating talents are awe inspiring enough but she tops herself everyday with every post she does on her terrific blog.
• Carol at Carol's Notebook. The love she has for her family shines threw on her blog and is one of the many reasons I keep going back to read what she has to say on books, games, and Amber's Art work.
• Peter at KyusiReader. Another blogger who never fails to add books to my reading list. His Bookshelf feature never fails to entertain and make me green with envy.
• Nikola at Nikola's Book Blog. Great blogger who has a very eclectic taste in books and has a unique perspective on them.

Goodbye to Brittany Murphy

It always sad when someone passes away but when it happens suddenly and to one so young and talented it takes your breath away.

Brittany Murphy, at the young age of 32, passed away from cardiac arrest today and I'm saddened by the loss of such a talent.

She is in some wonderful movies "Clueless", "Drop Dead Gorgeous", "Don't Say a Word", and "8 Mile". Thankfully we have at least 3 more movies yet to come out that she will be starring in.