December 20, 2013 by Stephanie

Friday Filter-Holiday Movie Review

I grew up watching classic movies. I feel so connected to the stars like Audrey Hepburn, Gene Kelly, Cary Grant, Bing Crosby, Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire, and Humphrey Bogart…I could go on for miles.

I mean who doesn’t like a movie that has tap dancing and singing?

I am also obsessed with the style of the time. Absolutely gorgeous.

Love everything.

To say that I have an obsession with classic Hollywood would be understatement. I mean seriously, we named our dogs after Grace Kelly and Bing Crosby, and we walked out of our wedding to a Frank Sinatra song.

So it should come as no surprise that my two favorite holiday movies are right along with this era.

holiday-inn-movie-poster-1942-1020143655

I also love classic movie posters, and hope some day have a vast collection.

Holiday Inn is a musical about an inn that only is open during the holidays. They circle the year and put on grandiose dinner shows about several holidays. It is interesting because you definitely see the culture of the time throughout the movie. Gotta love a little historical context. The focus does fall around the Christmas time though, so it still counts as a holiday movie to me. And this is where the famed song “White Christmas” debuted, not with the movie White Christmas like most think.

The story line has humor and romance. Jim and Ted were partners in a show in the city. Jim decides to retire to the country once he learns that Ted romanced Jim’s partner Lila (and thought life partner). Jim then opens the Holiday Inn, as a supper club of sorts. He creates a dinner show for only holidays. Ted was dumped by Lila and comes to be comforted by Jim, only to find his next “love.” I will let you watch it to see who ends up with who.

It is just a funny movie showing the antics of early showbiz. Crosby has a laid back casual approach with perfect wit and charm, which is perfectly paired with Astaire’s more satirical humor and the acrobatics he brings to the table.

I love it all, and Bing’s voice is a dream.

(Also it doesn’t hurt that Tom has a striking resemblance to Bing-in voice and looks. I’m one lucky gal!)

Facts about Holiday Inn from IMDB:

It was released in 1942.
It was the first time Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire were paired together.
When Irving Berlin won an Oscar for his song “White Christmas” from this movie, he became the first artist to present himself with an Academy Award.
The firecracker dance sequence required 3 days of rehearsal and took two days to film. Fred Astaire’s shoes for the dance were auctioned off for $116,000 worth of war bonds.
The set of the Holiday Inn (1942) was reused by Paramount 12 years later for the musical White Christmas (1954), also starring Bing Crosby and again with songs composed by Irving Berlin.

Which brings me to my next holiday classic….

This is my ALL TIME favorite holiday movie.

Following a very similar story line to Holiday Inn, this movie also occurs at a Vermont inn. White Christmas tells the tale of two Army buddies (Bob and Phil) turned song and dance team when they meet the Haynes sisters who are also a singing duo. They all end up at this inn, which is failing miserably. Bob and Phil find out that that the inn is owned by their former Army general so they stick around to help drum up some business. They of course do this by putting on a marvelous Christmas show.

Again, romance and humor fueled by the singing and dancing.

Facts about White Christmas from IMDB:

It was released in 1954.
The “Sisters” comedy act that Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye perform was not originally in the script. They were clowning around on the set and the director thought it was so funny that it was written in. Many takes were attempted, but Crosby was unable to hold a straight face due to Kaye’s comedic dancing. The scene shown in the film was the best take they could get (which includes some laughter from Kaye as well).
While preparing to go on stage for the Sisters routine, Betty and Judy mention their brother being out of the country working in Alaska. This movie was released in 1954 and Alaska wasn’t admitted as a state until 1959, so he was in fact out of the country.
One of the dancers accompanying Rosemary Clooney is George Chakiris. He went on to earn the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, as “Bernardo”, in West Side Story (1961).
Even though Betty was the elder of the Haynes sisters, Rosemary Clooney was actually seven years younger than Vera-Ellen in real life.

Both of these movies are great films to sit by the ~~fire~~ heater with a cup of something warm to breath in the holiday spirit. They are both on my list of must sees during the holiday season! It is so surprising to me how many people have never seen these two movies, so I urge you to check them out if you are guilty of that!

Friday Filters offer a review that are my own opinions. I was not contacted by anyone associated with these works or compensated for my review. My review has not been influenced by anything other than my love for entertainment and art.

What movies are on your “holiday-must-see” list?

Also, I have a plug for an upcoming post. Next week I am co-hosting a Faith and Fellowship devotional with Susannah. We will be exploring a few verses in the first couple chapters of Luke and are focusing on Mary and her submission to God, which I feel is a great thing to focus on this holiday season! We will be opening it up on Friday, December 27th, so I hope you come back for some thoughts on faith!

December 9, 2013 by Stephanie

30 before 30 Update

One month down since I decided to do this 30 before 30 thing.

So here is my first update. I think it has been a good start to this 18 month challenge.

1. Crochet something else besides blankets or scarves-so something that isn’t straight lines.

· I have some ideas for Christmas presents, so I may have an update next month.

2. Do a 30 day photography challenge

· I need to do it in a month where we aren’t traveling a whole bunch. The hardest part is making a commitment to get the camera out ever day.

3. Visit 3 cities I have never been to before

· Well, I went to Russellville, MO for a wedding, but I am not sure it counts because we didn’t really “see” the town. But I guess I am the one in charge of this challenge so I can make my own rules.

4. Tour at least one of the distilleries in the area

· Nothing.

5. Send at least 5 snail mail a month

· I actually sent 9 letters! Also, this was a great excuse to buy new stationary.

6. Become a “professional” photographer

· This is in the works! Anybody have any photography needs? I am for hire!

One of my favorites from my most recent family sessions.

7. Run at least 5 races (any distance)

· I have plans in the works.

8. Go camping with Tom

· We have plans for this for next summer for our anniversary.

9. Pay for the car behind me in a drive through

· Not yet.

10. See Tyrone Wells live again

· Nope.

11. Tour Fort Defiance here in Clarksville

· This is more of a summer thing.

12. Water ski with my dad

· Also summer.

13. Do a 5K with my mom

· Nothing.

14. Take a swing dance class with Tom

· I am still trying to convince Tom to do this with me. This may come near the end of the challenge.

15. Read at least one fun book a month and one professional development book every three months

· I have no excuse for this one. I am still in a reading rut, but I did start the last in the Castle series this week, so hopefully I will catch up in December.

16. Take a pottery or stained glass class

· Things have been too crazy schedule wise to make this happen yet.

17. Learn how to make sushi

· No plans yet.

18. See both a Clemson and UCM football game live

· This will have to wait until fall.

19. Volunteer with MCFOTS and Special Olympics on a regular basis

· I am still waiting on some paperwork from Special Olympics. This week, I started at MCFOTS (the animal shelter we got Crosby). I love it so much! It is a good thing there is a limit on how many pets we can have on base because there were two dogs that I almost took home with me. Grace is not very happy with me doing this though. She is so mad that I have cheated on her. I will deal with her hateful stares though because this is seriously awesome!

20. Explore Land Between the Lakes

· Summer plan.

21. Ride in a hot air balloon

· This will take some work and research.Tom hates heights, so either this will take some convincing or I will need to find other people to embark on this journey with me.

22. Go to at least 10 “new to me” restaurants in Clarksville.

· We have been to two: China One and King Mao. Tom and I love Chinese restaurants, and they usually are part of our weekly date nights. It was no surprise that these were our new places, however I still think our online ordering is the best out there. Any of my Clarksville friends have suggestions?

23. Stay at a bed and breakfast

· Working on it.

24. Spend a day without electronics (phone, t.v. and computer)

· I am thinking about doing it a day over winter break.

25. Go to the Kentucky Derby

· I would really like to do this for my 30^th birthday since it is a week before my day. This would be enough time to save money too because it is expensive!

26. Go to non-touristy parts of Nashville

· I did this weekend! My supervisor from grad school was in town! We had a mini Clemson reunion downtown with dinner.

We went to the Old Spaghetti Factory and then walked around downtown for a little bit. Tom got 2 pounds of taffy from a candy shop there, which he promptly ate half of on the way home.

27.Watch at least 10 movies that I have not seen before that won Best Picture at the Oscars and at least 10 documentaries (not necessarily Oscar winning)

· I need to do some research and make a list of the Best Picture films I would want to watch and put them on our Netflix queue. As for the documentaries, we tried watching one on Zombies. Yes, this is true, but we only made it through 10 minutes before we couldn’t take it anymore. It was so absurd.

28. Sew an item of clothing from scratch.

· We think our sewing machine is out for the count, so this may be on hold or need to be changed on whether we can get it fixed or get a new one.

29. Find a church home here in Clarksville

· I believe we may have found a church that we both like. Tom and I have different tastes in how we like to enjoy worship, so this is an adventure trying to find a good mix for both of us.

30. Become a mom

· Working on it. *wink wink*

So there you have it. Not too shabby for my first month. We’ll see what I can mark off this month. December is going to be pretty nuts since we have so many things planned for the holiday time. Wish me luck!

Anyone want to join me on any of these excursions?

December 3, 2013 by Stephanie

Happy Birthday Dad!

My dad turns 57 today!

I have some pretty awesome memories of this man who raised me.

a daddy’s girl

Growing up, whenever we had to write about “a hero” or the person we wanted to be when we grew up, I always wrote about my dad. He was funny, smart, knew how to swim, played basketball, and sang. This was pretty much every essay I “wrote” in elementary school.

I thought he was so cool. And there wasn’t a subject that my dad didn’t know about. I thought he was the bomb{dot}com.

Our apple tree…and ranger panties circa the 1990s. Also don’t judge that my brother and I have the same haircut.

I still do (even with the hair halfway down his back).

He taught me how to work hard for everything, and he never seemed to give me a break no matter how much I pouted for it.

He showed us how to be compassionate, encouraging, and care for others. I saw this in how treated our babysitters and his basketball players growing up and how he gave meaningful gifts to our teachers every year.

He was my coach for basketball and science teacher for several classes in high school. He never just let me have it and made me search for answers on my own so I could be independent. (Which at the time, I was so teenage angsty about it, but now I am eternally grateful.)

He was always there for me when I asked him to be, and yet knew when I needed my space to grow up a little bit. Or those times when I didn’t even know that I needed him and he was there. Like my birthday when Tom was at basic training and he and my step-mom drove 3 hours with my favorite ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins in dried ice just so I could have some piece of home.

Can you tell that I am his daughter?

He never gave us special treatment, but always managed to make us feel special.

He kept us grounded in morals and taking the high road. Like that time in third grade when I ripped my neighbor’s shirt and beat him up at recess after a game of Power Rangers went horribly wrong. He and my step-mom made me go apologize to his mom that night. My one scuffle at school…that apology made me never want to get into trouble again.

(My step-mom, dad, and I)
One of my favorite things growing up was watching sports with my Dad. He loves all things KC, so naturally I am a Royals and Chiefs fan. We have spread out into college teams now with Clemson, Mizzou, and ISU. We text constantly during our favorite teams’ air time with the lows and highs of the game.

He taught me so many things: how to fish (although I’d much rather do the swimming that he taught me), the Glinn dance, that nothing in life is free, how to drive a bike/boat/car, how to perfect a jumpshot, how to crochet, how to laugh at myself, persevere, forgiveness, and most of all love.

My fondest memories are:

reading bedtime stories like “Shepherd of the Hills” and “Anne of Green Gables”
going camping
making Malt-O-Meal on Christmas and jello and chocolate ice cream whenever we needed a pick me up
ice cream on the first day of school
anything basketball
Chinese food Sundays
our trip to the BVI
church mission trips

Happity hippity, hopppppyy birthday!

I take on a lot of traits of my dad (other than his head of hair and blue eyes), and I couldn’t be happier about that!

He’s cool, he’s happening, he’s hip, he’s now. (Whenever my dad is trying to emphasize he is not getting older and can still relate to the younger crowd, he says this to himself and anyone who will listen)

Here is to many more birthdays! Happy Birthday Daddio!

And this is a reminder that you are getting old and turning into Grandpa!
(Which I have to say, is not a bad thing in our family!)

November 30, 2013 by Stephanie

My Favorite Holiday

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. I love the message of being with those that you love and being thankful for what you have.

It is a time for us to focus on what really matters: our relationships. It gives us moments to cherish one another and deepen the connections we have with those that we love. It is a time to create memories and reconnect with fellowship.

As a kid, it was a time where a family who seemed disjointed by divorce was able to have togetherness and celebrate that family is what you make of it. These moments around the holiday table made me realize that I had a normal loving family even if it looked a little different than a cookie cutter family. So I always enjoyed the holiday get-togethers. And who doesn’t love three Thanksgiving meals?

I love that it encourages everyone to be thankful for what they have. It just is a happy holiday for me.

And then Friday comes.

I have never really understood Black Friday. First of all, I am a woman who loves my sleep, so getting up that early has never made sense to me. Also I hate lines, so nothing seems worth waiting in line to get into the store, then another line for the item, and yet another line for checkout. My time is worth something people.

Most of all, I feel that it is completely opposite of the meaning of Thanksgiving. The idea is erroneous to me. It is like the day before was a sham and all that we were thankful for is no more. To me it is a day spent being greedy and wanting more of things we don’t necessarily need. (Don’t even get me started on the commercialism of Christmas.)

I am human just like the rest of you, and I would be lying if I didn’t say that I didn’t want a new car or a new laptop like the rest of you. I am no better in that I have those urges too.

I do also know that for some people Black Friday is a family affair and it is time spent together. For some people it is a rush to get those deals, and they find so much joy in the activity. If that is the case, rock on and have fun together! I will remain in my pajamas on my couch eating the tons of turkey left overs.

But for the most part, I fundamentally disagree with the idea of the day and the message it sends. As I said, it seems as though the world is dismissing the day of thankfulness we had not even hours before. (For some stores they are doing Brown Thursday-What?) It perpetuates this desire to always want more. The stories out there of people fighting over linens and getting trampled to get that new thingymabob just boggle my mind at what we are doing as a nation. We compare ourselves to what others have, and we become envious. If you live your life always looking for your happiness in the next thing or sale, you tend to miss out on what is happening right now and enjoying the little blessings that you already have.

1 Timothy 6:6-10 “But godliness with content is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

Thanksgiving was extremely important to me this year. I have talked about how this fall I have been on the struggle bus. I have been waiting for the “next” thing to happen. I have been wasting my life in a line of unfilled expectations waiting to get a bargain in my career. These wants of having a big time job have had a disastrous effect on my psyche and my relationships. My anxiety was controlling my life, and all because I wanted to be in a different place.

All the while I was missing out on the wonderfulness of right now.

I have spent a good amount of time the past month pondering on a few verses. I needed to refocus and re-center myself around what matters.

I needed Thanksgiving.

my Thanksgiving decoration…

Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God”

I wrote about making this a reminder to help with my anxiety. I have this verse on repeat in my head when I am having a moment. It is so helpful just to throw up your requests to God.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus”

I have really tried in the last few weeks each day to count my blessings. I have a notebook where I jot down things that I am thankful for. Some are simple things like having a DVR or the chocolate chips in my banana bread, and others are more grandiose things like the ability to cultivate a long distance relationship over the phone with my parents or having all day yesterday to lay around with Tom and just be in love. If I am having a really low moment and have lost sight of where I am, I can look back at these scribblings and know that I am truly blessed.

God has blessed my life, and that is something worth taking a moment to be thankful. I don’t want discontent to run my day.

Psalm 139:14 “I praise you because I am fearfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Walk faithfully with God every day of your life and enjoy each gift he gives you now. I have been amazed at how my attitude and perspective have changed once I stopped the comparison game and was more content with where I am in life and the things that I have.

So if Black Friday is your thing, awesome. I’m not one to stand in the way of a good deal. You do you, and I will do me. I just hope you remember to be thankful for what you do have and focus on what really matters in life. I will tell you those sheets on sale isn’t it.

Thanks to Susannah for the Thankful for All link up idea!

Simple Moments Stick

How do you remember to be thankful? Do you keep a journal; do you say them out loud to yourself in the car? How do you remain mindful of your blessings?

November 11, 2013 by Stephanie

Veteran’s Day

Since today is Veteran’s Day, I wanted to highlight a company that is finding a way to thank our veterans.

(I took this directly from their website.)

2013 marks the third year that Heinz^® Ketchup has helped Americans honor and support our veterans and active service members. The Heinz Our Turn To Serve program celebrates those who have served our country, and raises awareness and money for Wounded Warrior Project^® — a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that honors and empowers wounded warriors.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

Look for Heinz^® Ketchup bottles with the “Our Turn To Serve” label at participating restaurants and retail stores nationwide. Participating Heinz^® Ketchup bottles will feature a quick response (QR) code that can be scanned with a smartphone. The QR code will give instant access to step-by-step instructions to create and send a personalized Thank You Card to a veteran.

You can also share your thanks on Instagram when you tag your photo or video message with #OurTurnToServe. Photos, videos and Thank You Cards can be viewed in our Gallery of Gratitude.

For every Thank You Card sent,
Heinz will donate $1 to Wounded Warrior Project^®, up to $250,000. Heinz will donate an additional 57 cents for every Thank You Card that is shared via Facebook or Twitter by July 1, 2014.

A HISTORY OF HELPING

Since 2011, the H.J. Heinz Company, L.P., and the Heinz Foundation have donated over $630,000 to Wounded Warrior Project^®.
More than half a million personalized Thank You Cards have been sent to veterans through the Heinz Our Turn To Serve program.
During World War II, Heinz converted one of its factories to manufacture parts for planes.
Almost half of Heinz’s total food production went to the Allied armed forces during World War II.

I knew I liked Ketchup for a reason….

So glad to have my soldier home! I am so proud of him and what he has done for our county! (And for the speech he did today at his sister’s elementary school…more to come later!)

However, there are so many that are not home, and I am sending my prayers up for you and your families.

Thank you to our military members for your service in the past, present, and future.