Things That Make Me Happy: Mele Kalikimaka Edition, Part 2

Merry Christmas (or Mele Kalikimaka as they say in Hawaii!) everyone. I hope you all have a wonderful day surrounded by family and friends... and filled with oodles of love. 

Things That Make Me Happy: Mele Kalikimaka Edition

December 2005, A Hawaiian Christmas Eve

(Morgan and Jonah)

Stories That Make Me Laugh: Hawaiian Santa Edition

So there isn't exactly a story that goes with this post... it is really ALL about the picture, but here is a little background information to help set the stage. Three years ago I spent Christmas in Hawaii with the family I was nannying for at the time (the adorable five children I have mentioned in some of my previous posts). Christmas Eve we went to a really nice restaurant for a great dinner, and while we were there eating Santa Claus stopped by for a surprise visit. Morgan, who was about 3 at the time, was totally excited for Christmas. However, she was also very confused and worried as to how Santa would find her in Hawaii, since she wasn't at her real house. Well at dinner that night Morgan took one look at the Hawaiian Santa and FREAKED out. She proceeded to jump under the table and hide for her dear life, all while crying and screaming at the top of her lungs. Of course being the fabulous nanny that I am, I managed to capture this HYSTERICAL moment... so that I could torture her for years to come!

December 2005

Of course once Santa left the room Morgan pretended like the whole thing had never happened... and that her hiding was her being SO excited to see Santa!

Things That Make Me Happy: Schenectady Edition

Hmmm... OK, so you may not know it but Schenectady is pretty cool. Hehehehe! Yeah... maybe not so much, but one can dream. Anyways, I did spend four years of my life there, thus leaving me to have some sort of connection with the place. Typically my conversations of Schenectady go somewhat like this.

Person: "Oh, and where did (or do - depending on the time frame) you go to college Victoria?"

Me: "Um, Union College."

Person, with a look of utter confusion on their face: "Oh, where is that?"

Me: "Eeeee. Oooooh. Yeah. Schenectady, New York."

Person: "HUH? Where is that?"

Me: "Upstate New York, near Albany."

Person, pretending to have a clue (or at least feign interest): "Oh." But obviously this person is still confused, and really just focussing on the town's name "Ummm. How do you spell that? And oh wait... how do you say it again?"

It goes something like this S.C.H.E.N.E.C.T.A.D.Y! And it is pronounced like this sken-eck-ta-dee! Give it a try... it's kinda funny actually (but not so much when you must repeat it over and over again because that is where you live!). So anyways, due to the fact that this town has a CRAZY name, and I went to school there, I sort of get excited when I hear it mentioned in something dare I say... famous (well maybe not famous, but something mainstream). I actually sort of feel an odd sense of pride. Not because I love Schenectady, but more like because I lived there for four years... and lived to tell the tale (and yes... that I am proud of). In reading the list of the cool things "our" town (and by our I mean us amazingly awesome Union peeps) did I discovered that Schenectady has a weird tie to Christmas! Who knew? It turns out the GE plant's zip code is 12345... and I guess many a child (misguided I may add) send their Santa letters to this zip code. Let me tell you wonderful children of the world... Santa most definitely does NOT live in Schenectady New York!  

An example of "our" coolness!

Things That Make Me Happy: Christmas Book Edition

In keeping with the Christmas theme, since it is that time of the year, I decided that I would share my favorite Christmas book. After much googling last night in an attempt to find a link or a summary or something about this book to share in this post, the only thing that I discovered, much to my sadness, is that this book seems to no longer be in print, and it is now sort of a "collectible". It's too bad they don't publish it anymore, as it's a really cute book. It's a very simple story about a lady named Maud, who lives on Beacon Hill in Boston, with her two dogs and her cat. Maud LOVES Christmas time because she gets to spend it cooking, decorating her tree, shopping at Filene's Basement, and attending fancy events at the Museum of Fine Arts. Maud also LOVES to make lists, and even though she saves everything until the last minute, she always has a great time whatever she is doing. The thing that I always loved about this book though is the illustrations. They alternate between black and white (with red accents) and bold and colorful pictures. The illustrations are a bit wonky, but in a cutesy "it's like a child drew them" sort of way. There are also tons of funny little details, and lots of characters to check out, and every time you read the book you are sure to notice something new. Every Christmas I still love to read this book, even though my copy is now old and worn... with a cover that has been lovingly taped back together (no doubt by my mother, who also kindly penned in my name on the front cover, for fear of it getting lost on the occasions that I brought it in for show and tell at school).  

A sampling of illustrations.

Things That Make Me Happy: Disney Christmas Special Edition, Part 2

OK, so I just realized that the version of the Disney Christmas special that I found on YouTube (and that I posted for your viewing pleasure earlier) is missing a couple of very good scenes. I have these scenes on my old childhood version, and they are just too good to not share... so here they are.

And my personal favorite is the Donald Duck clip below!

Things That Make Me Happy: Disney Christmas Special Edition

I have been on a YouTube kick these past few days, and I just discovered one of my favorite Christmas videos on there. When I was little I used to have this Disney Christmas special on a VHS that my mom had recorded for me (back when this was some new and cool technology, and it was like a miracle to be able to tape your favorite things off of your TV). Every year I would watch this movie come the holidays. Over the years though the tape quality got worse and worse, and eventually it was packed up, and sent to be buried under piles of boxes in our attic. Since I haven't seen this movie in several years, I was just a little too excited to find it on YouTube. So once again I have modern technology to thank for allowing me to enjoy this classic Christmas special... and now you can enjoy it too!