The close of nominations for the 2012 YA Bloggers Fairy Tale Book Battle is approaching soon, and we still need a few more volunteers and nominations for the battle this year. So to encourage those of you who haven’t participated yet, I’ve created:
It’s very easy to enter:

First, you need to nominate a book and/or sign up as a volunteer judge part of the battle. If you’ve already done either step, you’ve already qualified.

• Your email address (or another way to contact you)
• What you did (nominated a book or signed up the judge or both)
• Where you heard about the battle (who referred you)

Make sure you include ALL of that information in your comment. Incomplete entries will be deleted and you’ll have enter again. If you don’t want to/can’t comment, please send your entry to me via email to shadyglade(AT)mail(DOT)com (yes that’s just “mail” not gmail, ymail, hotmail, etc.).


The idea behind this contest is to spread the word through links. So first you will need to blog, tweet, facebook, link, email, etc about the contest. You can also grab the button in the right sidebar (over there ------>) and post it on your blog/website/whatever. If you choose to link, make sure you to this contest post directly.

Display Comments Add a Comment

Well it's official! We now have a graphic for the 2012 Book Battle. What do you think? It took me a looong time to make this, so sorry for the delay, but I had to wrestle with my computer quite a bit to get to it. (stupid technology...)

So here's where I need all of your help.  It's time to help spread the word about the battle. We still really need volunteers to judge as well as nominations. So if you have a blog, website, twitter, facebook, or whatever, please post about the battle or pass on the news to your friends who you think might be interested. I've made the button available for everyone to grab, it will be over in the right sidebar if anyone wants the code.

And (hint hint) there will be a contest coming up this weekend for those who want to link and would like to win a prize for doing so. So come back in a day or two for more details on that. :)

So without further ado, here's the code for the button if you'd like to grab it (also available in the sidebar):

Display Comments Add a Comment

Welcome to the Nominations Page for the 2011 YA Bloggers Debut Battle! This is the place where you can nominate the book YOU think should win the battle.

 As chosen by readers, our theme this year is:

For the purposes of this battle, the definition of a "retold fairy tale" is a book that re-imagines or gives new life to a fairy tale, legend, or myth. This can also encompass books that combine more than one "traditional" tale, even if these are blended to create their new story.  The winner of this battle will be a book that breathes new life into an old favorite by being its own story, but still pays tribute to the original story.

Your nominations should follow these requirements:

1. It must be first published in English between January 1st, 2001 and December 31st, 2011. Reissues do not count if the book was first published before 2001.
2. It must be either Young Adult (or middle grade with strong teen appeal). 
3. It must be a retold fairy tale/myth/legend, or combination thereof.  
4. Only books that are first in a series are allowed.  EXCEPTION: If you're book is a later part of the series but can stand on its own (like the Once Upon A Time Series), it can count.
5. It must not be a nominee from a previous battle (if you'd like to double check, please let me know)

So, do you have a book that retells your favorite story? Fill Out the Form to place it on the nomination list.

You may nominate up to 2 different titles. If you are a teacher or librarian submitting nominations for your students (we've had a few do this in past years), please let me know in the comments section on the form so I don't delete them.  Email addresses will ONLY be used to track entries and will be deleted as soon as the nomination period is over. As a reminder, please DO NOT leave your nominations in the comments! They won't count unless you use the form.

Nominations will be open until Wednesday, May 16th (unless announced otherwise). All books nominated will be screened to check that they are eligible, then passed along to our Round 1 Judges. Round 1 will narrow down the books for brackets, and our Round 2 Judges will get started in early June. If you'd like more explanation about how the judging process works, check out this post.

 If you have any questions, feel free to email me at shadyglade(AT)mail(DOT)com.

Now, nominate away! And we still have volunteer spots open too!

Display Comments Add a Comment

Just a quick reminder that nominations for the 2012 YA Bloggers Battle start tomorrow (May 1st) at noon PDT.  So don't forget to come back and submit your choices!

Add a Comment

I know this is the part of the battle that many of you look forward to year after year.  It's the call for volunteers!

If you're new this year, you should know that although it's fun to watch the battle take place, half of the fun comes from participating.  I can't do this huge event all on my own, so tons of volunteers step up to pitch in and make it possible.  Last year we had over 50 people volunteer in various positions. 

So whether you're a returning participant, or a newbie, please take a minute to consider volunteering.  It's lots of fun, and I promise I'm not a slave driver (LOL). 

As a reminder to everyone who is signing up judge:  You DO NOT need to have previous judging expereience.  You also DO NOT need to have your own blog.  The only requirement is you have a love for YA books and you have the ability to critically examine them.  Teamwork is also a must need for Round 2 Judges. 

We need judges as well as a few other volunteers, so check out these open spots below:

Graphics Specialist - This volunteer will be reponsible for coming up with a logo/button for this year's battle (or finding someone else who can do it for you). They may also be responsible for creating/updating the bracket graphics as the battle progresses. This volunteer can also be a judge.

Reading Challenge Moderator - This year I will be adding a reading challenge to the festivities.  More info on this will be coming later, but I need at least one person to help keep track of points and progress.  This will be done through our battle Goodreads group pages. 
-Desired Requirements: Goodreads account (or willingness to create one), experience hosting reading challenges a plus. This volunteer can also be a judge.

And, of course, we wouldn't be anywhere without our fabulous judges. If you are new to judging this year, make sure you read this post about the judging process before you apply so you understand how the process works. 

Round 1 Judge: These judges will be responsible for reading as many of the nominated books on the longlist they can in about 3-4 weeks. They will recommend titles for the shortlist to be organized into brackets. These judges will work alone, although a few may be required to have discussions  with other Round 1 judges.
-Desired Requirements: Quick readers, willingness to borrow/buy books where needed (access to large library a plus), ability to meet deadlines on time, critical thinker.

Round 2 Judge: Second round judges will be assigned a bracket (ie two books) to read and pick a winner. Every Round 2 Judge will be working with at least one partner to pick the winner for each bracket. -Desired Requirements: Ability to finish 2 books in 2 weeks, works well with others, checks email regularly, willingness to borrow/buy books where needed (access to large library a plus), ability to meet deadlines on time, critical thinker.

Again, I want to stress that you do not need previous experience or a blog to volunteer to judge.  We welcome everyone!  :)

If you'd like to volunteer for any of these positions, please fill out the form. I will start responding hopefully by next week. At that point you will be assigned a position(s) and asked to commit to the timeline. You can apply for as many positions as you want, but you will not be given more than 2 spots.

In the meantime, please pass on the word to any of your friends who might be interested.  And come back Tuesday to start submitting your

Display Comments Add a Comment

Well readers, things have (finally) settled down a bit at home, which means it's time to get the 2012 YA Bloggers Book Battle on the road!  As always, I want to start with a brief introduction so that those of you who are new to the battle this year can have some background info.  So what is the YA Bloggers Book Battle?

Well, it started as a crazy idea in 2010. The idea took off and before you know it, I was in the midst of organizing an epic book battle.  And strangely enough, people liked it.  So I brought it back for 2011.  And it was even more fun.  And now, here we are in year three, and by now, it's just history.  :)

The YA Bloggers Book Battle is a bracket-style judging contest. Our 2010 theme featured the best debut work of 2009 (and a little of 2010), while blog readers chose the theme for 2011 to be Best Overlooked Book. This year for 2012 blog readers have chosen the battle theme as Mythology and Fairytale Retellings.

Here's a general idea of how the battles work:

People will have a chance to nominate a book of their choice to take place in the battle. After nominations close, the books will be narrowed down by our lovely Round 1 judges. Books that make the cut will be fit into brackets for Round 2 Judges to read.

Starting in early May, each Round 2 judging panel will read the two books in their bracket and choose a winner. One will move on, one will not. It will all come down to two books in a epic book battle to choose the best!

Tentative Timeline:
To Be Announced

Updates will periodically be posted here, so if you don't follow the blog regularly, you can bookmark this page and periodically check back to see what's new.

Add a Comment

The votes are in, they have been tallied, and it's time to announce the winning theme for the 2012 YA Bloggers Book Battle. Thank you to everyone who voted! And now, drumroll please: the theme is....

 Mythology and Fairytale Retellings!

 And there you have it. These will be the books that I eat, sleep, and breathe for the next few months (LOL). Thanks to Natalie (LiederMadchen) who suggested this idea through our battle's Goodreads group.  Based on the votes cast we will also have a 2 round nomination process again this year (provided I can get enough volunteers to judge).

 So now is the time when the real work begins. Signups for volunteers will be up in a few days, and nominations will open shortly after that.

 In the meantime, we will need a button for our new battle, so if anyone is artistically inclined and would like to volunteer to create one, please let me know. :)

Let's get ready to battle!

Display Comments Add a Comment

A few days ago I asked readers to submit their ideas for our theme for the 2012 Book Battle.  The ideas are in and now it's time for everyone to vote on their favorites.  Thank you to everyone who submitted ideas!

For those of you who are new to the battle, here's an introduction post I wrote in it's first year.  But basically, it's a bracket-style elmination competition for books.  I organize the event, but I don't have any hand in the judging or determining the winner.  Judges are selected from volunteer book bloggers, YA lit enthusiasts, and blog readers.  Each bracket is judged by a new set of volunteers, who choose which book will move on, and which book does not.  This is the 3rd battle at The Shady Glade, and each year has had a different theme. 

So, with that quick intro out of the way, it's time to detail out the options for this year's battle.  There's a form at the bottom of this post (or you can find it here).  Please fill it out to pick your favorite ideas.  It's really short, only takes a minute, and I count on as much participation as possible to do this!  Voting will remain open until Saturday, April 15th at midnight PDT (or earlier if particpation slacks off). 
The winning ideas determines how many volunteers we will need, and the other organizations I have to set up behind the scenes, so once we know our winner I will be sending out a call for volunteers. 

Here are descriptions of each option detailed in the poll.  You can pick no more than 2 favorites (since we have several new suggestions this year).  If you have any questions, please ask. 

Let the games begin!

Best Debut Author Title of 2011 - This would mark the return of 2010's theme for another year.  This battle features books by authors whose first book was published during 2011. 

Mythology retellings - With the surge of books that are based on fairy tales, legends, and various mythology, this battle will pit these types of books against each other to determine an ultimate winner.

Good books with horrible covers - You know how you always hear "don't judge a book by it's cover"?  This battle gives those books that you would never think to pick up off the shelf a chance.  What gems are hidden beneath the horrendous cover art?  And which book is best of them all?   

Book Academy Awards - This takes the idea of the Academy Awards to the YA book market.  Several categories including best male character, best female character, best supporting character will battle it out for a winner, similiar to our Readers' Choice Awards this past year.  This will feature several "mini brackets" with several winners, one for each category.


Best of the Genre - In this battle, books will be broken up by genre to battle for the best of their kind in 2011. What was the best fantasy published last year? Best historical? Best parnormal? This will feature several "mini brackets" with several winners, one for each category.

Best sequel - Know of a book in a series that was better than the first?  Which recently published book outshines it's predessessor.  This theme will require judges to read 4 books, the original and the sequel for both sides of the bracket. 

Read-alike Versus Battles - This idea will sh

Display Comments Add a Comment

So I finally went to go see the Hunger Games movie last night.  While I'm going to do a whole review, I have to say if you like the book it's probably worth seeing, and if you're interested in the concept but haven't read the books yet, then it's probably still worth seeing. 

So below are a few of my random, scattered thoughts about the movie.  There may be spoilers below, so if you haven't read the book/movie, read at your own risk. 

Overall impression: Not bad.  My coworkers who hadn't read the books and saw the movie liked it, and those who had read the book and saw it didn't like it because they left out things. Its been almost a year since I've read the book, but I thought the movie followed it pretty closely.  So not sure what all that was about. 

The shaky camera work at the beginning was making me sick.  I can understand why they did it, it was an artistic decision.  I think it's supposed to heighten the chaotic and gritty feel of District 12.  But really for about 20 minutes there I had a bad headache.  I don't think I will be seeing it on the big screen again. 

Loved Rue.  She was so cute.  Actually, I've heard a lot of people complain because she's black.  I actually pictured her as Asian for some reason when reading the book, but really, does it matter that much? 

Stanley Tucci cast as Flickerman was pretty much dead on.  But I did notice the line of his wig in one closeup (oops!).  Haymitch was right on as well. 

Was it just me, or did Peeta's wound not look that much worse than Katniss' burn? 

Kaito is about the scariest thing ever.  And the group of careers cheering each other on?  Like it was football or something.  That was disturbing. 

I loved, loved, loved Katniss' hair during the parade.  Wish I could do that with my hair.  I would have liked to see more of the other tributes' costumes though.  But that's just the costume fanatic in me. 

I've heard complaints that everyone thought Peeta and Katniss looked too old.  I didn't think so.  I could totally believe they were 16 years old.  Hey, they live in District 12, they've had a hard life, and that makes everyone act older than their age. 

I really liked the addition of the scenes from the Capitol's point of view.  I kept staring at Seneca Crane because I was fascinated by the way his beard was cut.   But President Snow wasn't all that menacing.  He just trimmed his roses the whole movie.  I have a hard time seeing him as a bad guy, since I think of him as Mr. Bennet. 

And that concludes my random list of thoughts.  :)  For those of you who've seen the movie, what did you think of it?

Display Comments Add a Comment

Just popping in for a quick reminder to submit your ideas for the 2012 book battle.  I will be closing the form after Wednesday and putting up a poll so everyone can vote on their favorite idea(s). 

Also, now's a great time to join the Goodreads group if you haven't already. 

Sorry for being MIA a bit the last few weeks.  I've been dealing with some computer issues and working out some behind the scenes stuff in preparation for the battle.  Hopefully I'll get a chance to work on things more in depth in the next couple weeks...

Add a Comment

I decided it was time for a new look, so over the next few days I'm going to be playing around with the appearance and template of the blog.  So if things look funky for the next little while, you know why. 

In the meantime, if anyone has any comments/suggestions for things in the layout they would like to see, please leave me a comment and let me know!

Display Comments Add a Comment

It's that time of year again!  The 2012 YA Bloggers Book Battle is approaching it's third year this time around, and it's time to start preparations.  (For those of you who are new to the battle, here's an introduction post I wrote in it's first year.)  I sent an announcement about this yesterday to our Goodreads group, but for everyone else, here's the latest scoop.

Last year I tried something new by letting you, the blog readers, suggest ideas for the battle theme and then vote on which one you would like to see played out.  It worked out really well, so I'd like to do it again this year.

So take this opportunity to tell me what theme you want to see.  In 2010 we did a Debut Author Battle, and last year was Overlooked Books.  There's been additional suggestions in the past about doing mini genre brackets, versus battles, and more.  We've already got some great ideas coming in at the Goodreads group, but I want to get input from those of you who don't necessarily make it over there.

Leave a comment on this post with your battle ideas.  If you'd prefer to remain anonymous, you can also submit your ideas via this Google form.  Next week I will be putting up a poll so you can all vote on your favorite suggested idea.

Here's to another great year!

Add a Comment

Nothing like a Waiting on Wednesday post to get me back into the swing of things. Sorry this is going up a little late in the day. But it's still Wednesday, so here we go.  Today's pick is:

A Breath of Eyre by Eve Marie Mont

About the Book (from Amazon.com): "A scholarship student at an exclusive prep school, Emma Townsend feels like an outsider. Her stepmother doesn't come close to filling the void left by her mother's death. And her only romantic prospect - apart from a crush on her English teacher - is Gray Newman, a long-time friend who just adds to Emma's confusion. "Escape" comes in the old leather-bound copy of Jane Eyre that Emma receives as a gift. Then a lightning storm catapults Emma right into Jane's body and her nineteenth-century world. As governess at Thornfield, Emma experiences a sense of belonging she's never felt before, and a growing attraction to the brooding Mr. Rochester. Now, moving between two realities and uncovering secrets in both, Emma must decide whether her destiny lies in the pages of Jane's story, or in the unwritten chapters of her own..."

You know me, I love anything that makes an old story fresh.  And that goes double for things like Jane Austen and the Jane Eyre.  This is the first book of a proposed trilogy (I think?), and I'm really excited because the third one is going to be about The Phantom of the Opera.

And I know I gush about covers all the time, but I want that dress so bad.

The good news is, you don't have to wait too much longer to get your hands on this book.  A Breath of Eyre will be released on March 27, just a week away.  You can pre-order your copy now on Amazon though:

Display Comments Add a Comment

Wahoo!  It took nearly 8 hours of packaging, wrapping, taping, addressing (and $60 of postage) but I am 100% caught up on sending out prizes.  Actually, most of them went out on Wednesday of this week, but for some reason my computer decided to hate Blogger and this is the first time I've been able to come on and post about it. 

In other news, while I haven't been able to post, I HAVE been able to get some reading done.  Which is a nice change, since even finding time to read is hard these days since I'm so exhausted when I get home from work.  Too many books, too little time and all that. 

So those of you who I owe a prize too, look in your mailboxes because they should be coming soon!  And hopefully I'll get lucky and Blogger will cooperate with my computer so I can get a couple other posts up this week. 

Starting the 4th, I will be in Disneyland for a couple days, so don't expect a lot of updates then. :)  But I do want to try and get a few posts up in the coming week, just to help ease me back into the habit of blogging. 

Thanks for sticking through this with me.  You are the greatest!

Display Comments Add a Comment

Hello readers! 

I've gotten a few emails lately, so I wanted to take the time to reply to them all at once. 

I'm still around and am doing okay.  I apologize for my absence these weeks since Christmas.  Some of you may remember I was sick a lot before Christmas.  Unfortunately, whatever I had never went away and eventually turned into pneumonia.  So many of of the past few weeks have been trying to fight off that.  Sometimes real life gets in the way of blogging, and that's really what happened here. 

For those of you who've never had pneumonia, it really sucks.  I've been coughing for about 10 straight weeks now, and I'm still not completely well, although I'm slowly getting better.  The worst part is that I'm tired all the time so on the days I'm well enough to go to work I pretty much come home, eat, and fall into bed (or the couch, depending on how bad the symptoms are). 

The good news is, is that I am getting better.  Slowly, but I am.  So my goal now is to try and get back into blogging.  I've said it a lot over the last couple months, but I really want to get back into doing more reviews, and I'm working behind the scenes on a few enhancements to help with that.  I also really want to get back into doing Waiting on Wednesday posts, since I love sharing new publications.  And I have a few other ideas circulating around back there, including plans for the 2012 book battle. 

Thank you to everyone who has stuck it out and stayed with me.  I really appreciate your support, and the emails from you asking if I was okay really touched me as well.  It's nice to know if I fell off the face of the earth, some reader out there would notice (LOL).  I don't know how much I'll be blogging since I'm not up to 100% yet.  My goal right now is to make sure I do at least one post a week.  I'd really like to do more than that, but with the pneumonia still holding on, I'm not sure if I'll make it.  So let's say expect one post a week and anything else will be a bonus. 

To those of you who I owe prizes, I apologize for the delay.  They should be going out this week.  I'm working on getting them wrapped up and addressed and sent off.  I didn't forget about you, I promise!

Again, thank you to everyone for sticking with me.  I'll get through this somehow!

Display Comments Add a Comment

Merry Christmas to you and yours from The Shady Glade. I hope each of you can take the time to enjoy today with your families. 

I'll be back in the New Year with new posts.  Thanks for being patient with me through this.  Being this sick is certainly no fun!

Display Comments Add a Comment

Today I have a great guest post from Allison of the blog The Allure of Books.  She's going to share one of her favorite Christmas movies (and one I've never heard of!).  So without further delay, take it away Allison!

When I was a kid, my mom always brought out a special basket of holiday-themed books in December. It was also the only time I was allowed to watch the movies on the "Christmas" shelf in the movie closet.
No book or movie was more beloved than Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas. Y'all, it became a tradition to watch it every year. In fact - I still do. No matter how old I get, I'll never grow out of this one.

Emmet and his mother are having trouble making ends meet, and they're both upset at the thought of not being able to buy each other Christmas presents. A local talent show is announced with money offered to the winner. Both Emmet and his mama enter the competition secretly hoping to surprise the other by winning.
The songs, the characters...all of it is exemplary. This movie is one of the things that defines Christmas for me. It probably wouldn't feel like the holidays if I didn't dig it out and watch it.

Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas could not be any cuter, seriously. I don't care who you are. Even if you aren't normally a fan of Jim Henson - make an exception! I don't care how young, old or jaded you think you are. Watch it! (It is available instantly on Netflix right now by the way, so no excuses!)





Even the villains are awesome:





So, what are your favorite holiday movies?

Definitely looks like one I will be looking at! Now off to go check my Netflix queue...

Thanks for the great post Allison!

Display Comments Add a Comment

One of my favorite parts of doing A Shady Glade Christmas is getting to read all the awesome guests post submitted. Today I'm happy to share my first guest blog of this season, from my old friend Erica of the Book Cellar. Erica is posting about her favorite wintery reads, so take it away Erica!

[Also, my links aren't working for some reason, so I will go back and add them all in later]

I am not a big fan of winter by any means. I enjoy snow for about a week around Christmas, and have no tolerance for the cold. But there is one thing I enjoy about winter: sitting by the fire, curled up with hot chocolate and a good book, escaping from the cold outside. So I thought I would share with you my favorite books to read in the wintertime by the fire :)


Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols: This is a long time favorite – it is a great one to reread, especially by a warm fire.

The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab: This book shares a tale so bewitching in Schwab’s fairytale-esque world. It can get a bit creepy at times, so the fire is a good comfort to have. Plus the story is so dreamy that you will simply get swept up in the story, and forget about the weather outdoors.

When It Happens by Susane Colasanti: This story has one of the most adorable romances ever and is just a favorite of mine to reread time and time again.

Any of the Simon Pulse Romantic Comedies – I own essentially the entire collection of these – they are absolutely wonderful. They are great stories of whirl wind romances and you can read one easily in an afternoon.

The Private Series by Kate Brian: I love getting caught up in the drama, disaster, and romances of this stories. The pages just fly by, and every new book in the series brings more to the story and introduces new great characters.



Erica blogs at the YA Book Blog, The Book Cellar. When she is not reading, you can find her singing, dancing, or on stage in whatever show the local theater is currently doing. She is currently a freshmen in college where she is studying science education.

Display Comments Add a Comment

This is our game post for the 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway 2011. Please do not comment on this post unless you are one of our 12 players. Thank you!

Reminders for players:
If possible, please post your move(s) as comments on this post. It will help everyone follow the game as easily as possibly. If you cannot post a comment, email me your choice.

On your turn:
Choose a gift to unwrap (comment as “I’d like to unwrap #X”) or steal one of the revealed prizes (comment “I would like to steal X”). Leave a comment on this post with your move.

If you have been stolen from:
Either choose a new gift to unwrap, or you can steal another revealed prize.

Rules for stealing: You cannot steal a book directly back after someone has stolen it from you. (You can steal it back later though.) Each prize will be allowed 3 steals and then it is out.

Play Order:
Victoria Z.
Amanda (That Teen Can Blog)
Michelle (chelleyreads)
Andrea / Purplg8r
Mary [M.A.D]
Lieder Madchen
Wrighty
Erica
Mashal W.
Hamwam
misskallie2000
Patsy H.


Presents:

Gift #1
Doing Santa's job isn't always easy, especially in New York (Novella)

Gift #2
"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." (Anthology)

Gift #3
What will my true love give to me?  (Picture Book)


Gift #4
May this heavenly toy always bring you love (Novella)

Gift #5
Christmas with the painter of light (Picture Book)
Display Comments Add a Comment

Okay, so I really hate apologize blog posts.  But I did kind of drop off the face of the earth for a few days, so I thought you all might like an explanation. 

I know I mentioned in my last post that I've had some medical things I've been dealing with lately.  Well, to make a long story short my minor pains became more substantial and I had to go to an urgent care center late Monday night.  There I found out I have two cracked ribs, one on each side.  Naturally I've spent most of the time since then laying in bed as it hurts to move in a lot of ways. 

But the good news is that I'm on the mend.  So hopefully things will get back on track.  I thank you for being patient with me!  I've got some great guests posts coming in, so look for those coming up later this week. 

Display Comments Add a Comment

I just don’t seem to have any luck lately. :( I meant to get this up this weekend, but kind of had a slight medical complication this weekend. Oh well, better late than never!

Here are our players for the 12 Days of Christmas giveaway this year. You will all be getting an email from me today with the full rules. You’ll need to respond within the next 48 hours to play. If you didn’t get your email, leave a comment here and let me know right away.

So congratuations to:
Erica
Mary [M.A.D]
Amanda (That Teen Can Blog)
Lieder Madchen
Victoria Z.
Patsy H.
Hamwam
misskallie2000
chelleyreads
Andrea / Purplg8r
Wrighty
Mashal W.

These are our players. Thank you to everyone who entered! If for any reason any of these cannot play, I’ll choose alterates to play.

Let’s get ready to win some prizes.

Display Comments Add a Comment

Sorry, not much of a post today guys.  I'm busy doing stuff for my mom's birthday which is today:

We have two December birthdays in my family (my brother's is after Christmas).  I feel a little bad for everyone with a birthday in December, since they kind of get eclipsed by the holiday season.  Everyone's so focused on Christmas. 

I always try to make an extra effort to do special birthday-only themed things for my family so they don't feel like they're missing out.  But I have to run now so I can make dinner and pie and wrap presents so things are ready by the time Mom is off work! 

Back tomorrow with a more Christmas-y post...

Display Comments Add a Comment

Don't forget, there's only a few more day to enter for your chance to particpate in the 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway this year.  Entries will close Saturday the 10th at midnight! 

You'll miss all the fun if you don't enter... :)

Add a Comment

I'll admit it.  I love Christmas specials and movies.  These are those really sappy 30 minute programs or made-for-TV movies you see all the time during this year.  You know the ones I mean.  Many of them are sweet enough to make your teeth hurt. 

But I still love them, especially the classics.  I look forward to watching A Charlie Brown Christmas during this time of year, and I've enjoyed Frosty and Rudolph in the past too.  Of course, there's always the new specials that pop up every year too.  Some stand the test of time, some don't.  If you haven't seen Disney's newest special, Prep & Landing, that's a good one to see too. 

But here's the confession time.  Despite my many, many years of going out of my way to see Christmas specials I have never, ever seen Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town. I'm almost ashamed to admit it, espcially since I've seen Rudolph and Frosty so many times!  It's a true Christmas classic, and so I'm not sure why exactly I've never seen it, but there you go.  People reference it this year all the time and I always feel a little left out. 

So my goal this Christmas is finally see the dratted thing.  I WILL do it! 

What about you?  Is there a Christmas standby (book, movie, whatever) you've never experienced?

Display Comments Add a Comment

One of my favorite things during the Christmas season is the music. None of my family will let me play any before Thanksgiving, but literally the day after I pull out all of my Christmas CDs and playlists. It always manages to get me in the Christmas mood.

So when my brother sent me a video by a group called Straight No Chaser for a song called “The Christmas Can Can” I knew I had to watch it. And I wasn’t disappointed. It’s hilarious. So for today’s Christmas post, I present to you “The Christmas Can Can”:


By the way, someone also animated this song, which is also pretty funny. You can see that here.



There’s also a pretty awesome version of “The 12 Days of Christmas” too:

Display Comments Add a Comment