Music Monday for New Year's Eve: Barry Manilow

There are only so many New Year's Eve songs available for this week's Music Monday post... last year I had Guy Lombardo here on the Bay Head Blog and Dan Fogelberg on Roxiticus Desperate Housewives. The following video from Barry Manilow combines a Christmas Classic in honor of our troops ("I'll Be Home for Christmas") and "Another New Year's Eve." Add your own party hats, noisemakers and New Year's resolutions and we'll be all set!



Don't look so sad, it's not so bad you know.
It's just another night, that's all it is,
It's not the first, it's not the worst you know,
We've come through all the rest, we'll get through this.

We've made mistakes, but we've made good friends too.
Remember all the nights we spent with them?
And all our plans, who says they can't come true?
Tonight's another chance to start again.

REFRAIN
It's just another New Year's Eve,
Another night like all the rest.
It's just another New Year's Eve,
Let's make it the best.
It's just another New Year's Eve,
It's just another Auld Lang Syne,
But when we're through this New Year
You'll see, we'll be just fine.

We're not alone, we've got the world you know.
And it won't let us down, just wait and see.
And we'll grow old, but think how wise we'll grow.
There's more you know, it's only New Year's Eve.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.





PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

Music Monday: Blue Christmas by Elvis

We're more likely to have a White Christmas up north (and west) in the Roxiticus Valley, but every time Elvis' rendition of Blue Christmas comes up on our iPod's holiday play list, I'm reminded of just how good it is. Enjoy!



I’ll have a blue Christmas without you
I’ll be so blue just thinking about you
Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree
Won’t be the same dear, if you’re not here with me

And when the blue snowflakes start falling
That’s when those blue memories start calling
You’ll be doing alright with your Christmas of white
But I’ll have a blue Christmas

You’ll be doing alright with your Christmas of white
But I’ll have a blue, blue Christmas

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.





PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

Crafts for Christmas!!

Crazy Christmas craft coincidence (say that three times fast): London came home from the Mendham Township Elementary School library the other day with a book called "Crafts for Christmas" by Katherine N. Cutler and Kate Cutler Bogle. We didn't have a chance to open it before the girls headed out to school in the morning, but I was just getting ready to put it away in the library book basket in London's room when I read "About the Authors" on the book jacket...turns out to be our Bay Head artist neighbor and her mom...maybe 40 years ago! The girls will be delighted to learn that our very own Katie Cutler is the famous author... and I'll be sure to have them email her their questions when we get stuck on any of the crafts... as my loyal readers know, Roxy is not so crafty.

How Wheat Works!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Wheat Food Council. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey, have you heard about How Wheat Works? Click the link to see...it's an interactive, online multimedia program that delivers a farm-to-fork education on how a whole or enriched grain food comes to be, enabling a better understanding of wheat's nutritional value and resulting in informed food choices. Rex, London, Maddie and I, and participants of all ages can visit the site to virtually grow, harvest and mill our own kernels to create our desired wheat food. It takes just a few minutes to complete each of the program’s four phases – growth, harvest, milling/baking and the grocer’s aisle - while the program spans the course of four days.

Interactive opportunities include choosing the type of wheat to be grown and wheat flour to be milled. At the end of each phase, activity suggestions encourage participants to extend the wheat learning experience by preparing wheat-based recipes, exploring wheat grown in your own local area through state wheat commission member sites, and viewing harvest videos from “America’s Heartland.” You can also virtually experience the Urban Wheat Field, an event that brought wheat’s journey from field to table to life in New York City during October via a live wheat field, full-size combine, a functioning mill, a baking station and nutrition lab -- all in the name of wheat education.

For each participant in the online experience, the Wheat Foods Council will donate two pounds of flour, up to 90,000 pounds, to Operation Homefront, a non-profit organization that provides assistance to needy United States troops and their families. This donation is made possible by Wheat Foods Council members at ADM and ConAgra, two of the world’s largest millers.

Bracing for Another Winter Storm

Oh the weather outside is frightful... or at least Maddie our very own weathergirl says it's going to get that way by tomorrow morning.

We're up north in the Roxiticus Valley, trying to stay warm by the fire, while our poor little beach house in Bay Head, New Jersey is bracing for another winter storm. Anywhere between one and twelve inches of snow. Our neighbors who live at the beach year round have told us the last storm hit hard... stay warm and safe, friends!

Roxy's Holiday Photos Go Wireless!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Eye-Fi. All opinions are 100% mine.

I just made Rex some flight reservations for an upcoming Washington, DC trip, and the most amazing thing happened... he clicked the "check in now" button on his Blackberry and it asked him if he wanted to receive a wireless boarding pass! So when he gets to the airport, all he needs to do is flash his Blackberry instead of printing out a paper ticket and boarding pass.

There are lots of things in life that would work better if they were mobile or wireless.... like my camera. I'm sure I'm not the only person who can never seem to find the card reader to transfer my photos from my camera to my computer. Last month, I finally printed out 2,000 photos of London and Maddie... many of which had been waiting patiently on my camera for almost a year.

I take lots and lots of photos of the girls and their friends at school events (like the MTES Holiday Singalong), friends' birthday parties, and their various dance recitals and sports activities. Our friends are always asking me, “What happened to those photos you took at [fill in the blank]?"

It's pretty clear to me that Eye-Fi can help...it's a wireless SD memory card with up to 4GB of memory plus built-in Wi-Fi. Just turn on the camera to effortlessly transfer photos and videos from camera to computer and favorite online photo sharing site (like Flickr & Facebook). With Eye-Fi, I can also share photos and videos on any of my favorite sharing sites without even turning my computer on (which is a good thing, since my laptop is still in the hands of the EasyTech at Staples). All I'll need is an SDHC capable camera and a wireless router.

Check out the video below to see how it works and how an Eye-Fi card for my camera could change my life... or at least the way Rex and I upload and store our photos.



It sure looks like the easiest way to get what's in my camera out of my camera, and will save a lot of time and hassles. With automatic backup of my most precious memories and automatic organization (by date) on my computer, I will feel a lot safer... since sometimes it feels like I have my own personal evil magnetic force field crashing computers and making electronic memories disappear. I'll soon have effortless sharing while the memories are fresh.

Music Monday: Go Tell It On the Mountain

Here's Garth Brooks singing the gospel classic, "Go Tell It On the Mountain." I'll warn you in advance that the video is lame, but the music rocks.




Go tell it on the mountain
Over the hills and far away
Go tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born

The shepherds all were watching
Over their sheep at night
When a guiding star shone from heaven
And the followed that holy light

Got tell it on the mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
Go tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born
They found a lovely manger
Where the humble Christ was born
And God sent out salvation
On that blessed Christmas morn

Go tell it on the mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
Go tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born

He brought with Him forgiveness
He live to show us the way
He came to redeem all creation
And to wash all our sins away

Go tell it on the mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
Go tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born