Cinema Saturday Challenge: Sound Of Music

The movie theme for the challenge this week over at Cinema Saturday is "The Sound Of Music". I was excited about this one, as it is my favorite musical of all time! I remember the first time that I saw it as a little girl, and I had (have) such a crush on Captain Von Trapp! Years later in High School Choir, we did the play for our Spring Operetta. I played a nun!

"Edelweiss" is my favorite song from the movie. I collect musical snow globes and wanted one that played this song. I searched for years, and to my surprise, had a difficult time finding one. Finally I found a company that let you choose the music for your globe, and they had "Edelweiss". In my opinion, it is not the prettiest of my snow globes, but it is my favorite.


This is my favorite scene from the movie. To see the video of this scene go to the bottom of this post. Much to his children's surprise, Captain Von Trapp sings them this song after he hears them singing "The Sound Of Music" to his guests and thanks Maria for bringing music back into their home. Maria looks on, and at the end of the song their eyes meet! Aw, so romantic! I used Liesl's dress as my color inspiration, and did my own version of the flower, Edelweiss. The top of the torn paper on my card, is supposed to represent the mountains that the Edelweiss flower grows on.

The card came out blurry on the scanner. I think because the button on the flower sticks out from the card so much. As I've said before, my camera went to the Happy Hunting Grounds on Thanksgiving. I now have it laying in little pieces all over the kitchen table, and cannot figure out how to put it back together! I think I will have to take it to the doctor. Thank you for looking, and don't forget to watch this video. Unfortunately whoever created it, cut off the part at the end when their eyes meet-grrrrr!

Giveaways

A few bloggy shout outs! I've started a link thingy-ma-bob over on my sidebar, listing some of the giveaways that are taking place. My goal is to keep it up to date! We'll see how that goes! I will probably be editing this post as I add to the list

Over at Kath's Blog, there is a Birthday Celebration going on! Yep, Kath has been blogging for one year now, and it is her Blogs Birthday! Go over to join the celebration...and there is a prize up for grabs! It closes on March 10th!

Head on over to SITS for another great giveaway! These ladies come up with THE best prizes! And they feature some pretty great blogs as well! Up for grabs is some fantastic bed linens, winner will be announced March 1.

Do you just love Aprons? Well, head on over to Mama's Losin' It, because she has another giveaway going on! This is week FOUR of her Apron Giveaway Extravaganza!

Head on over to SITS and enter to win a Keurig Platinum Brewing System! If you are a coffee, tea or hot chocolate lover...you don't want to miss out on this one!

Pennies In My Pocket hosts a number of giveaways. Head over there and check them out!

Tag You're It Challenge & Betrayal!

Over at Tag You're It, the challenge this week is to create a tag that is in the shape of a triangle. Naturally, I took the Christmas tree route. However, I made it last night around 3am so it's more of a "Christmas Tree Jacked Up On Irish Coffee"! I just kept adding, and adding stuff to it! (Keep reading for the betrayal portion of this program!)


While I have your undivided attention, I would like to point out a very serious matter to you. I think the people at M&M's are trying to pull one over on us. You may have heard all of the hub-bub about their fancy- schmancy new flavors, and designer treats they have been making recently. WELL, peanut M&M's are taking a hit I believe. I have sampled 3 different bags of these chocolate jewels (by that I mean I've eaten ALL of each bag), and think that they are making the candy coating THICKER so that they can use less CHOCOLATE and save themselves some money. This is an OUTRAGE! I like chocolate peanuts, but only in M&M form. The ones that are strictly a peanut with chocolate around them, 1) have very little chocolate and 2) the chocolate is waxy! Why must M&M's MESS with my HEAD!?

I thought that you should be aware of this. I think it was subliminally my inspiration for this tag, it kind of reminds me of Christmas M&M's.

A Christmas Poem, and Christmas Cards

I haven't had a creative bone in my body for quite sometime, until recently! I am addicted to card making now (and toast, but that's a different story)! I'm still a WAY beginner, and my digital camera is still craptastically broken! This first card is neon green and pink, so I think that's why it scanned like poo (it has some kind of funky dark streak down the middle that I couldn't get rid of after the scan)! The second one here, I will either keep for myself, or make another one just like it, because I just love the way it turned out! Below the cards is another wonderful Christmas poem with a "true meaning of the spirit of the holiday" message.

SANTA'S SECRET WISH

On Christmas Eve, a young boy with light in his eyes,
Looked deep into Santa's, to Santa's surprise,
And said as he nestled on Santa's broad knee,
"I want your secret, tell it to me."

He leaned up & whispered in Santa's good ear,
"How do you do it, year after year?"
"I want to know how, as you travel about,
Giving gifts here & there, you never run out.

How is it, dear Santa, that in your pack of toys,
You have plenty for all of the world's girls & boys?
Stays so full, never empties as you make your way
From rooftop to rooftop, to homes large & small,

From nation to nation, reaching them all?
And Santa smiled kindly & said to the boy,
"Don't ask me hard questions.
Don't you want a toy?"

But the child shook his head, and Santa could see
That he needed the answer. "Now listen to me,"
He told the small boy with the light in his eyes,
"My secret will make you sadder and wise.

"The truth is that my sack is magic. Inside
It holds millions of toys for my Christmas Eve ride.
But although I do visit each girl and each boy
I don't always leave them a gaily wrapped toy.

Some homes are hungry, some homes are sad.
Some homes are desperate, some homes are bad.
Some homes are broken, and children there grieve.
Those homes I visit, but what should I leave?

"My sleigh is filled with the happiest stuff,
But for homes where despair lives, toys aren't enough.
So I tiptoe in, kiss each girl and boy,
And pray with them that they'll be given the joy

Of the spirit of Christmas, the spirit that lives
In the heart of the dear child who gets not, but gives.
If only God hears me and answers my prayer,
When I visit next year, what I will find there

Are homes filled with peace, and with giving, and love
And boys and girls gifted with light from above.
It's a very hard task, my smart little brother,
To give toys to some, and to give prayers to others.

But the prayers are the best gifts, the best gifts indeed,
For God has a way of meeting each need.
"That's part of the answer. The rest, my dear youth,
Is that my sack is magic, And that is the truth.

In my sack I carry on Christmas Eve day
More love than a Santa could e'er give away.
The sack never empties of love, or of joys
'Cause inside it are prayers, and hopes. Not just toys.

The more that I give, the fuller it seems,
Because giving is my way of fulfilling dreams.
"And do you know something? You've got a sack, too.
It's as magic as mine, and it's inside of you.

It never gets empty, it's full from the start.
It's the centre of lights, and of love. It's your heart.
And if on this Christmas you want to help me,
Don't be so concerned with your gifts 'neath your tree.

Open that sack, call your heart, and share
Your joy, your friendship, your wealth, your care."
The light in the small boy's eyes was glowing.
"Thanks for the secret. I've got to be going."

"Wait, little boy," said Santa "don't go.
Will you share? Will you help? Will you use what you know?"
And just for a moment the small boy stood still,
Touched his heart with his small hand and whispered, "I will."

Author Unknown

Tip Junkie Christmas Card Contest

Tip Junkie is hosting a Christmas Card Contest, and some wonderful prizes as well! Today is the deadline, so I'm hoping that this is getting submitted in time! Some of you know that I made my first card (ever) a few days ago, and now I have the card-making bug! Here is the one that I am entering in the Tip Junkie contest. My camera is still under the weather, so I had to scan it. The colors are mostly true, but the ribbon is quite shinier than it shows here. I mostly used (okay, well entirely) scraps from my huge scrap bin! I've vowed to not purchase any more supplies until I use some of it up!

What Does Your Santa Look Like?

What a fun day yesterday was at SITS! Thank you to all of the ladies that visited and left comments on my blog! Also, thank you to the lovely ladies that worked long and hard to provide us such a fun day full of prizes and new friends.

This poem (the one way down below this long story..sorry) is long, but please read it (I'm begging here)! It is one of my absolute favorites. I think I have always liked it because I was caught off guard one night by my best friends young children. I was babysitting so her and her husband could go out for their wedding anniversary. The kids and I were sitting at the dinner table, and their son looked up at me and said (just as innocent as can be), "where do babies come from?" His little sister just stopped chewing and looked up at me...waiting...wondering! I didn't know what to say! This was the very first year I had ever agreed to babysit even (they were both wiping their own tushies, that's when I will babysit!). I told them that Mommies and Daddies like to tell this story themselves. When they got home, they could ask them. Whew! It worked...they went right back to eating!

A few hours later, the kids heard the car pull up outside. They both ran to the backdoor and just stood there...waiting...wondering. I was going to warn my unsuspecting friends, but there was no time! The moment they walked in the door, their son looked at them and asked "where do babies come from?" Without a blink of her eye, my friend started to answer him. I thought...Wow...they must have been waiting for this...they are prepared! She said calmly "Babies come from Goodwill, and you had better get your butts to bed, or we'll go shopping tomorrow!" Their son said "okay, 'night!" What?! Crap!! I could have pulled that off. Then my friend and her husband went on to tell me how they saw a UFO on the way home. So in honor of all children who may one day ask me why Santa doesn't look like them, or why some children don't get presents, I will always keep this poem in the back of my mind, and vow to answer a difficult question myself!

Can Santa Be Black?

It happened in the kindergarten class,
Right at the table where they were having snack.
Joanie asked the question and they all sat back:
"Mr. Slater? Can Santa Claus be black?"

Poor Mr. Slater didn't know what to say,
Christmas vacation was twenty days away.
There were snowflakes to cut and
Window wreaths to be hung,
Christmas cards to be painted,
And Christmas songs to be sung.

He hadn't time to think
What Christmas was about,
In twenty more days,
School would be out!
Why couldn't they wait
And ask their questions then,
When mommies and daddies
Were home to answer them?
"Mr. Slater? Can Santa be thin?
Is Santa Claus always a him?"

Mr. Slater looked at twenty pairs of eyes,
Twenty children of every shape and size.
He ate a bit of cracker and finished his drink.
"Children," he said,
"I'll need some time to think."
As soon as class was over,
He ran down the hall,
Skidded 'round a corner,
Crashed into a wall.
Ran up the steps to the second floor,
Rapped on the window of the Principal's door.

"Ms. Frazer, Ms. Frazer, what can I do?
The children asked these questions
That now I ask of you:

Can Santa Claus be black?
Can Santa Claus be thin?
Does Santa always have to be a him?"

"Mr. Slater, it's a difficult task
To find answers to the questions you ask.
I think with these I'll need some assistance,
But I'll get you the answers with a little persistence."

Ms. Frazer turned in her swivel chair,
Picked up the phone and dialed Mr. Dare.
Mr. Dare was the head of the P.T.A.,
He called for a meeting the very next day.

"Thank you for coming,"
He began with a greeting.
"I'd like to get right to the point of this meeting.
Mr. Slater, in charge of the kindergarten class,
Needs the answers to some questions
And he needs them fast."

"Can Santa be black?
Can Santa be thin?
Does Santa always have to be a him?"

The parents didn't know what to say,
Christmas vacation was nineteen days away.
There were cookies to bake and lights to string,
Gifts to wrap and carols to sing.

They hadn't time to think
What Christmas was about,
In nineteen more days
School would be out!
Why did children have to ask questions when
Parents had no time to sit and answer them?

"Well, Parents?
Are there any suggestions?
Do we have any answers
To these difficult questions?"

"Who knows best
What Christmas is about?
Let's ask Santa!"
Someone called out in a shout.

The secretary of the P.T.A.
Sent a letter to Santa the very next day.
The reply came back very, very fast,
Addressed to Mr. Slater
And the kindergarten class.

Dear Mr. Slater, Dear Girls, Dear Boys,
Once a story writer caught me bringing you toys.
The year he spied me opening my sack,
My skin was white, my boots were black.
You probably know how that story goes . . .
I laid a finger aside my nose?
All these years, needlessly,
That story worries children who don't have a chimney.
All year long I listen to the news,
Read people's thoughts, see people's views.
At the end of the year, when I see what's needed most,
I take that shape, like a Christmas ghost.
I can pass through keyholes, windows and locks,
Apartment buildings, hospitals, tents, and trailer lots.

One year I used a wheelchair in place of my sleigh,
Once I was blind and had to feel my way.
It's hard to understand when I don't leave a toy:
You can't unwrap a gift like hope or health or joy.
My skin has been black, white, yellow, red, brown;
My eyes have been slanted, crossed, and round.
Sometimes I have been a she:
All these things are a part of me.
You may not believe all this is true,
But that's okay, boys and girls, because . . .
I believe in you. ---

Copyright © B.J. Wrights

Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge: Miracle On 34th Street

I found a blog last week, that is new to me. It is Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge. Every Saturday they post a new movie to use as inspiration for a card challenge. This weeks movie is Miracle On 34th Street. I just adore that movie, and have wanted to make a card for some time now! This is the FIRST CARD I have EVER made! Well, the first one that is not made with finger paints and a child's imagination anyway!

My favorite scene in the movie is when Susan witnesses Kris speaking to the Dutch girl in her native tongue and sings a song with her about "SinterKlaas". This is the moment that Susan begins to remove doubt that Kris is the real Santa Claus. That was my inspiration for my card. My digital camera died a slow, painless death on Thanksgiving, so I had to scan the card. Thank you for taking a peek, I'm thrilled that I finished it in time to enter the challenge!

Merry SITSmas To All!

Today is the first annual Merry SITSmas over at The Secret is in the Sauce. Wishing all of my SITSta's happy holidays, and best wishes now, and throughout the New Year!

Santa's Christmas Eve Prayer

The sleigh was all packed,
The reindeer were fed,
But Santa still knelt
By the side of the bed.

"Dear Father," he prayed,
"Be with me tonight,
There's much work to do,
And my schedule is tight."

"I must jump in my sleigh
And streak through the sky,
Knowing full well
That a reindeer can't fly."

"I will visit each household,
Before the first light,
I'll cover the world,
And all in one night."

"With sleigh bells a-ringing,
I'll land on each roof,
Amid the soft clatter
Of each little hoof."

"To get in the house
Is the difficult part,
So I'll slide down the chimney
Of each child's heart."

"My sack will hold toys
To grant all their wishes,
The supply will be endless,
Like the loaves and the fishes."

"I will fill all the stockings
And not leave a track,
I'll eat every cookie
That is left for my snack."

"I can do all these things Lord,
Only through You,
I just need your blessing,
Then it's easy to do."

"All this is to honor
The birth of the One,
That was sent to redeem us ...
Your most Holy Son."

"So to all of my friends,
Least Your glory I rob,
Please Lord, remind them
Who gave me this job."

~ Warren D. Jennings ~

To keep the blog-hopping rolling along, visit Lu from Avery Tales!

A Snowy Tag Challenge

Over at Tag You're It, this weeks challenge was to create a tag with a snowy theme. It didn't scan very clear (probably because it is NEON pink!), and it just wouldn't cooperate when I tried to edit the little goober. To see everyone else's tags go here and check out the comments.