Christmas Video Post No. 14 "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch"

This is from one of my favorite Christmas movies "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." (Meaning the original movie, not the Jim Carrey version!) I finally found out today who sings it: Thurl Ravenscroft---who also does "Tony the Tiger!" I did not know that. I guess you learn something new every day, huh?



So what is your favorite Christmas song? Comment, and I'll put it up tomorrow, if I get the chance. Because I'm starting to lose ideas, even though I only need two more!

I'm looking forward to After Christmas, when I'll go back to regular posting. Maybe twice a week. 'Cause I think you're all getting a bit bored with this (I am, too). Next year, I think I'll only do it the week of Christmas, make it a little easier on all of us.

Merry Christmas!!!
~Kiwi~

Christmas Video Post No. 12 "Wonderful Christmas Time" by Jars of Clay Christmas Video Post No. 13 "A Couple of Misfits" from Rudolph

Um......I don't have any profound comment for this video. *shrugs*


I'm glad that Christmas is close, because I'm running out of ideas for videos to post already!! I ought to know quite a few. :P

Here's another commentless video.....



Caroling on Sunday night went well! It was cold, but since we were just outside of the door, I could step into Walmart every so often to thaw out a bit. Then afterwards, a couple from church had a small party for the carolers at their house, and so I sat and played Hearts with three friends. I won! I've never won Hearts on the computer, so I figured I'd lose there, too. (Sorry, Evan, Mike, and Naomi for thrusting the queen of spades and all those hearts upon you! :P)
And we had 'spiced spider' to drink (She was in a hurry, writing out the labels. I dunno how she got 'spider' from 'cider'!).

Tomorrow: Cookie decorating!!! Can't wait.
~Kiwi~

Christmas Video Post No. 11 "Bring a Torch" by Downhere

Here's another of those Downhere videos. I'd never actually heard this song sung before, just some of the melody. What do y'all think of it?


Christmas Caroling at Walmart tonight! Be there, y'all!

Two thoughts:
Less than a week until Christmas!! Scary.
Scarier: Do you have all your Christmas shopping done yet? >;D
~Kiwi~

Christmas Video Post No. 9 "Christmas With a Capital 'C'" by Go Fish Christmas Video Post No. 10 "Good King Weceslas" by Relient K

This is another of my favorite Christmas songs. No, wait. I shall no longer be calling any of these my favorites--if it makes it on here, that must mean I like it, riiiiiight? Well, then, why should I waste time calling it my favorite? I don't know either.
Anywho.
I like Brad Stine's comedy bits in here. He's very good at making a point!


This next song is a little weirdly-done. Relient K.'s "Good King Wenceslas." Two years ago we sang their "Twelve Days of Christmas" at youth group, and the owner of the cd ("Let it Snow Baby... Let it Reindeer") lent it to us. I'm not a big R.K. fan (most of their songs go waaaay too fast and make no sense.), and the slaughtered the Hallelujah Chorus (I bet Handel was rotating swiftly in his grave when they recorded that!!) But some of the other songs on the cd were good. Maybe I'll post some others on here.




Today we went to Paul & Bethany's wedding. It was so beautiful! Her.....her dress....the bridesmaids....the decorations. *sigh* And now I can't believe their married! Still wish I coulda gotten one more "Miss Bethany" in...
I'll stick some photos on here later, when I get around to it. :)

Tomorrow? Caroling at Walmart! And a party afterwards. :D Awesome fun.
~Kiwi~

Christmas Video Post No. 7 "Silent Night" by Sanctus Real Christmas Video Post No. 8 "Silent Night" by Mannheim Steamroller

Okay, Sanctus Real and Mannheim Steamroller have my favorite "Silent Night" versions ever. Sorry, folks, but I'm not that big of a fan of "Silent Night" normally. Not sure why, but I'm not.
This is the Sanctus Real video.


I wonder if they do any other Christmas songs? Maybe I'll go search them for a while.
This is the Mannheim Steamroller version:



Sometimes I turn on my radio at night to fall asleep to the music on there. Mannheim Steamroller's song was playing, and I was almost asleep as it ended. Why do radio stations have to play their station I.D. jingles so much louder than the songs?? I was almost asleep, when they blared the name of the station in my ear and thoroughly woke me up!! Hmph.

Merry Christmas! I'll try to do a bit more of a post tomorrow. Maybe.

~Kiwi~

Christmas Video Post No. 5 "Christmastime" by Michael W. Smith Christmas Video Post No. 6 "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" by Mannheim Steamroller

Hey, I'm back! Sorry I missed a couple days there, but I'll try to make it up to y'all. If you read this. Aaaand if ya don't....I'll make it up anyway. Here's the first video. I wanted to do "Christmas Day" by MWS and Mandisa, but embedding is disabled on it. >:P Go listen to it anyway. That's an order. ;D
So, since I couldn't do that one, I settled for "Christmastime" by M.W.S. instead. It's just as good. :) Here ya go.


We went 'Goodwilling' today, and I found several cute outfits!! I got a new pair of dress pants and a shirt to wear to Bethany's wedding (LESS THAN THREE DAYS AWAY!!!!! AAAAAAA!!!), and also a summer skirt. Mom didn't want to buy it right away, but thankfully, she relented. :) $12 for dress pants, a shirt, and a skirt. Not bad!!
And, at the Habitat for Humanity Re-store, we found a chandelier for our dining room.....for $4.50. Sweet.


And back to the Christmas videos:
Here's number 6: Mannheim Steamroller! Turn it on and turn it up! They're my favorite Christmas group.



Well, sorry for such a short post, but I gotta scoot! 'Bye!
~Kiwi~

Christmas Video Post No.5

Christmas Video Post No. 3 "Charlie Brown Christmas!"

We just watched this Tuesday night on ABC. I love this movie! "Charlie Brown Christmas" and "A Christmas Story" are probably my favorite Christmas movies! Enjoy the clip.


~Kiwi~

Christmas Video Post No. 1 "Winter Wonderland"

Hey, all! Merry Christmas! I'm going to try to post faithfully every day between now and Christmas Day, and include a video related to the season. Today's is "Winter Wonderland" by Bing Crosby. I'd rather have "Winter Wonderland" by Mannheim Steamroller on here, but it doesn't exist on Youtube.



I'm posting this today because there was a large snowstorm last night, and all the trees are covered with snow. The branches bent nearly double, chickadees zipping here and there, and every now and then there's a "Whump!" as the snow falls off the branches. Several of our trees have lost branches (and they're the ones that can't really afford to loose more branches!).
Maybe I'll put up a few pictures tomorrow. (My camera had to be sent in for repairs, but it ought to be back tomorrow!!!! Yay!)

~Kiwi~

Black Friday Sale!!!! Doors open Saturday.

(Something's wrong there....^)
Yes, my friends, that is a true statement. I saw it on a Sears commercial last Saturday. I just thought it was odd...
Okay, so I'm working on a Christmassy tag. I'm not sure why it's Christmassy, but it has to do with "The Sound of Music," which is always played around Christmas (I'm not sure why), so it must be Christmassy.
I've been painting non-stop for the past four days, and now have three and a half Christmas cards to show for it! One of them is completely unlike any painting I've done before, yet it turned out (if I may say so) awesome!! So some of you will be getting that from us before too long, and the rest of you will have to wait until all our cards have gone out to get a glimpse of it on here. :) Actually, Most of you will get them in the mail.

Grandma and Grandpa said I should put my Christmas List on here, so here's a partial one. Maybe I'll stick the full thing on my sidebar. (* marks the ones I want, @ marks the ones I need, and # marks the ones I want so bad that I almost need them. :)

• @Paint brushes (Mom has a set that I like. It's Loew-Cornell brand, and it has 10 brushes in it. The reason I like her set is because the bristles are stiffer than the set I own. I guess just about any watercolor brushes would be great, especially if they're rather stiff.)
• @paint palette (porcelain or plastic, either one works well for me! 
• @watercolor pad (I'm half-way through the last page in mine! I love the way this one looks, or one of these three books would be nice. Except I don't care whether or not it's wind-powered paper.)
• *knee socks!! (How can you NOT like knee socks?!?!? They're so much fun! And if you get one pair of every color and pattern, you'll have one pair for every outfit you own.)
• *Diary from Walden Books. (I was there the other day and found this super-cute diary there! I wanted to buy it, but I was already buying another book for myself. Wish there was a picture online, but Walden/Borders apparently 'doesn't have' diaries. >:P Maybe I'll take a picture of it to put on here sometime.)
• #fluffy fleece bathrobe (Sis has one, and I want it! Mine was pale pink [and not fleece], but now it's kinda dirty pink, and no amount of washing is going to get all the little fuzzies off!)
• *#@volleyball 
• *Emily Climbs and Emily's Quest by L.M. Montgomery. (I found Emily of New Moon at Goodwill the other day and read it in 36 hours. Now I want the other two in the series!)
• *pretty much any interesting books
• #waterproof pens for my pen watercolor work
• *jewelry
• **Downhere cds: "How Many Kings?" "So Much for Substitutes" "Thunder After Lightning" 
• **Jason Gray cds: "Everything Sad is Coming Untrue" and "All the Lovely Losers"
• **Daniel Kirkley cd: "Let Love Win" (only $5.00 in his online store! :D)
• *Kutless cd? "It is Well" and possibly "To Know That You're Alive" (ya, they weird looking, but he has a good voice!)
• @@@snazzy new car (It has to be large enough for me and at least 3 friends, it has to be able to drive on the road legally, and it has to look cool. I specify the first two because, knowing my relatives, they'd think it funny to give me one of THESE.)
• @@@laptop computer (identical to this one, only with a better temperament.)
• #diamond earrings.
• **bandannas and scarves!
• #gloves
• @@@dishwasher (electric. to put in my kitchen and wash all them dishes for me!)
• **##@@Bermuda. The whole island. 

Okay, that's most of it. I'm sure I could think of some more, but, given the time, I'll quit now. :D For some of those things there's a very fine line between wanting and needing them (Bermuda. Laptop. Dishwasher.). 

what are some of the things that are on your Christmas lists, all you readers?? Let me know. :D

Ta-ta

~Kiwi~

p.s. the background on here is going to change again on December 21st, just to give y'all a warning!

Merry Christmas! (a few days late)/After the Bethlehem Skyline Concert, part 1

Heylo! I hope all y'all had a wonderful Christmas! I sure did. Monkey bought me a pair of post ear rings, which he disguised by putting in a Mountain Dew bottle, wrapping it in an unraveled paper towel tube and packing tape, then in wrapping paper. Mom and Dad gave me a book, two jackets and two long sleeve shirts, and an alarm clock. The nice thing about the alarm clock is that you can wake up to an alarm, the radio, or a cd. The unhappy thing is that there's no headphone jack.
Grandma and Grandpa were supposed to come up Christmas Eve and stay until today, but decided that the weather was too bad and they would wait until Sunday. When the phone rang while we were opening presents, my guess was "Grandma and Grandpa calling to say they're coming after all?" Mom said it was them, but they were just wishing us a Merry Christmas. Lo and behold, Someone came driving up at about 11:00.....Grandma and Grandpa! That was a great surprise. They gave me a big, beautiful, warm fuzzy blanket that alone is as warm as my two comforters.

We had Ham.

I think that paragraph needs no further words. Ham is good.

Yesterday we had Christmas at my other grandparents' house, with most of my Aunts and Uncles there. (Hi, all you!) We had a gift exchange with unmarked presents and I ended up with one of the best ones: a large tote bag in yellow, orange, brown, and white stripes. Grandma warned me ahead of time that Bigger may not be Better. In the biggest package, which TOO got, was a roll of toilet paper! Thanks for the warning, Grandma!

Now, I shall continue on my report of The Concert. Alright, I already talked about most of the concert, but I forgot to mention that it was Jason Gray's 17th wedding anniversary, so he sang a song for her and gave her a big bunch of red and white roses. *aw*

After the concert, as we were strolling down the hallway, we passed an off-shoot hall with a six-foot screen blocking part of it and Marc Martel's hat sitting on the screen. Rapunzel pointed it out to me.

"Hey, Kiwi, look." *points*

"What?"

"The hat. It's Marc's!"

"Are you sure? Why would he leave it there..." *steps closer* "'Punzel, there's an arm! I think Marc's back there."

"He's not back there, I don't think."

*Kiwi steps even closer* "That's Marc. I'm sure of it!"

Out steps (cue drumroll) Marc Martel! "Oh, rats, you found me." :) I wonder, does he make a habit of hiding behind screens, spying on his fans?

We even got a few pictures with him, and a (illegible) signature! Here's a few pics:

I asked him if he would give me an autograph, since I had spotted him.
So he gladly obliged. :)
And then he posed for a picture with us. I'm in purple, the other girl is Miss Rapunzel. I wish that lady's head hadn't been in the way!
Then we just happened to run into Daniel Kirkley.
"Hi," Daniel smiled and held out his hand. "I'm Dan...." He laughed sheepishly. "I'm Daniel."
Like I didn't know who he is! I requested an autograph from him.
"Oh, sure, sure!" He signed it with a flourish.
"Wow, quite legible, too!" Not! Those people have some of the most illegible signatures I have ever seen!
"Well, do you want me to print it underneath?" He asked, jokingly.
"Sure!"
"Really??"
"Why not?"
Daniel said that he'd almost forgotten how to print his name! lol!
Here're two pics with Daniel Kirkley signing our notebooks.
Daniel Kirkley is one of the nicest people I ever hope to meet. He's friendly, interested in his fans (He asked me about Myspace or Facebook, of which I have none, and then requested that I email him my blog address. I wonder if he got the email....Mr. Kirkley, if you're reading this, please don't lurk! Let me know you're here by commenting!)

And I leave you with that picture. I'll post more pictures later, and maybe scan their autographs and put them on here. Especially one, in particular......

Merry Christmas all, and Happy New Year!
Talk to you-all later!
~Kiwifruit

White Christmas

More pics from The Concert coming in the next post, but for now, I'm just going to complain about White Christmases.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the tree tops glisten,
And children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white

Ha! I'm thinking of slightly different lyrics right now, as I sit here and watch snow pour down atop the twelve inches we already have. Ugh.

I'm dreaming of a Floridian Christmas
Unlike the ones I've always known,
Where the palm trees sway
And children play *tries to make voice go way down like Bing Crosby's*
On the coast in that lovely, sunny zone

*Sigh*

I'm dreaming of a WARM Christmas
With every icicle I see
May your days be snow- and ice-free
And may all my readers agree!

Or there's this one that Rapunzel found and graciously shared with me:

Winter Clothes
by Karla Kuskin

Under my hood I have a hat
and under that my hair is flat.
Under my coat
my sweater's blue.
My sweater's red.
I'm wearing two.
My muffler muffles to my chin
and round my neck
and then tucks in.
My gloves were knitted
by my aunts.
I've mittens too
and pants
and pants
and boots
and shoes
with socks inside.
The boots are rubber, red and wide.
And when I walk
I must not fall
because I can't get up at all.

That makes me think of either Calvin and Hobbes, or in A Christmas Story where Randy says "I can't put my arms down!" and "I can't get up!" If you haven't watched that movie, you should!

Thusly, I shall end my rant. With a word of advice: Move Somewhere Warm!!!

~Kiwi da Frozenfruit

TONIGHT!!!!!!!!

AAAAAAH!!!!! IT'S TONIGHT!!!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!! I'm soooooo excited, thus the exclamation points, all cap. words, screams, jumping up and down, and excited look on my face!!!!!

We are leaving in about ten minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This will be my shortest post ever!
BTW, the reason I haven't posted in a while is because I was banned from the computer for a loooong time. :(

See ya'll later! I'm going to a CONCERT!!!!! YEEEEHAW!
~Elated Kiwifruit
okay, I'm not actually going into hysterics or anything, but I am really excited!
Bye bye!

I have at least one tag to do. I might do another that I wasn't actually tagged to do, but it looks like fun anyway.
Here's the first one, from Judi:


For the first five people who comment (if I can even get five people to comment):
1. I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll tell you which song or movie you remind me of.
3. I'll pick a flavor of jello for you to dive into.
4. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me. (if possible. If not, I'll say something that only makes sense to me.)
5. I'll tell you my first memory of you.
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. I'll ask you something I've always wondered about you.
8. I'll tell you my favorite thing about you.
9. I'll tell you my least favorite thing about you.
10. If you play, you MUST post this on yours unless you have: a) already done it, b) if you're Dagmar, or c) you just don't want to do it.
(Dagmar, I said that because I know that it wouldn't work on your cooking blog. But you can still COMMENT. :)


Tag Numba Two:
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?Wrapping paper. It's more fun, although Hallmark now has motion detector gift bags that yell "STEP AWAY FROM THE GIFT BAG" very loudly. That would be fun to put the boys' presents in.
2. Real tree or fake?
Come come now, let's not call it fake, it's faux. Fake sounds so..so...plasticky. We have a faux Christmas tree.
3. When do you put up the tree?
Before Christmas.
4. When do you take the tree down?
After Christmas.
5. Do you like eggnog?
In small amounts.
6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Oh, brother. Ummm... one time, Mom and Dad gave me a necklace with a gold-plaited chain and a little cross at the end with a pearl in it. I don't know if the pearl was real or not. But then, one day after church I was changing and forgot I had the necklace on, took off my turtle-neck sweater, and broke the necklace. I was (and still am) unhappy about that. But I still have the pendant! Or, if two years ago counts, my great-grandma gave me an oil paint set. She was an artist. I wish she could have taught me how to use them.
7. Hardest people/person to buy for?
My dad. He only reads books once unless they are really good, and are shirts very exciting for a forty-eight-year-old man?
8. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes, two in fact. One is plastic, and we're allowed to touch and play with it. The other is porcelain, and ever since I was little it was off-limits. I suppose I can touch it now, but I don't usually.
9. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Snail-mail, of course! Otherwise I'm out of a job! (see previous post)
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
I can't think of any really bad ones. I guess I've just tried to block those memories! lol!
11. Favorite Christmas Movie?
A Christmas Story.
12. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Not early enough.
13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
I refuse to answer.
14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Cookies!
15. Lights on the tree?
White.
16. Favorite Christmas song?
"Adoration" by the Newsboys, "How Many Kings" by Downhere (whom I'm seeing in a week!!!), and "Christmas with a Capital 'C'" by Go Fish.
17. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
I'm not sure what we're doing this year. Usually we start at our house, then migrate to my grandparents' around noon.
18. Can you name all 9 of Santa's reindeer?
I don't think I've ever been able to. I know Rudolf, though!
19. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Angel.
20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?
Christmas Day! Otherwise the Opening-Presents ceremony is over sooner.
21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
Giant blow-ups in front yards, stupid songs like 'Santa Baby', all the "Happy Holidays!" that people say, the cold, and the 'Santa Clause' movies (stupid, stupid, stupid!).
22. Favorite ornament theme or color?
I have quite a few favorite ornaments. I don't care for just the colored balls and tinsel all over the tree, though.
23. Favorite for Christmas dinner?
HAM!!!
24. What do you want for Christmas this year?
Where do you want me to start???? For any rich people reading this, who want to be nice to a poor, moneyless girl, I'd like a camera, tv with at least enough money to pay for cable for a year, LAPTOP OF MY OWN THAT NO ONE CAN KICK ME OFF OF, every single color of watercolor paint that Winsor and Newton make in the highest professional-grade quality. And tons of other stuff. I can't list it all right now, as my time on Angus is limited. (see why I need a computer of my own?)


I went ahead and changed my template. All two of the votes said that I should. Why did I get five comments from four different people, and only two votes, one of which was off this computer? Hm.


Rapunzel and I went shopping at Kohls today for some new winter shirts for me. I hate Kohls!!! Why don't they make Junior's sizes for NORMAL size girls?? I'm not a skinny little wisp! Why don't they realize that and make clothes my size? STUPID CLOTHES DESIGNERS! Okay, maybe they're not entirely stupid, but I wish they would consult me! Double hmph! But I found a nice royal purple turtleneck that I'll probably wear to the concert and a fitted long-sleeve tee.

Um, let see. I only have three minutes left on Angus. See why I need a new computer????
Drat! Now I forgot all that I wanted to say.

Good/bad news! Jeremy Thiessen's wife had a baby boy (Liam Jeremiah Thiessen), which is good, but alas, he won't be there on Sunday! (he's the Downhere drummer) :-(-:

Need to go now. Who know when I'll be allowed back on. I NEED A COMPUTER OF MY OWN, SANTA!
~Kiwifruit