About Amanda
I’m a disgruntled LIRR commuter by morning, real estate journalist by day, insomniac by night, and cancer butt-kicker for life.
Where To Find Me
The 5th Day of Christmas – Oh Christmas Tree
Published December 5, 2011 | The only artificial Christmas tree I’ve ever owned was the two-footer that sat in my dorm room at college. Other than that, I will always get a real Christmas tree. Nothing beats the smell, the feel, the frustration, and the satisfaction of having a real tree.
Most years, we buy our tree from a lot, slowly walking up and down the rows of Douglas firs, looking for the right one. Criteria: between 7 1/2 to 8 feet tall, nice and full, plenty of branches for ornaments, strong branches on the bottom for heavy ornaments, and some gaps for the special ornaments we’d like to showcase. Usually the process takes about half an hour or so. But this year? Less than 30 seconds. Mom and I walked into Lowe’s to pick up some wreaths, saw a tree standing to the side, said “That’s the one!” and off it was hauled to the car. It was perfect, and here it is in all its decorated glory: Continue reading
The 1st Day of Christmas – Best Holiday Movies
Published December 1, 2011 | I’m not much of a movie watcher – except during the Christmas. I love, love, love holiday movies, and would probably watch them year-round if I weren’t afraid to get holiday fatigue. Here are my top 10 favorites:
1) A Muppet Family Christmas – This is by far my favorite Christmas movie – the Muppets, in my opinion, at their ’80s peak. (It even included a cameo by Jim Henson.) Not only did it feature “The Muppet Show” cast, but “The Fraggles” and “Sesame Street.” We originally taped this from the first TV airing in 1987, the day before I turned five. The tape was played a few times each year – except after my sister decided to let her friend “borrow” the copy, and then he moved across the country. Oh, was I angry. Subsequent VHS and DVD releases of the film cut out important parts of the film because video release rights couldn’t be secured for certain songs, and, of course, the fantastic ’80s commercials (remember Playskool’s Definitely Dinosaurs?) were also gone. However, two years ago, Lexcie and I were poking around a local church’s tag sale when I came across a bin of VHS tapes for 25¢ each. I don’t even know why I looked in the bin that day – why would I buy a VHS when I had a DVD player? But right on top of the pile was a taped version of A Muppet Family Christmas. I actually ran back to the car to find a quarter – there was no way I was leaving that sale without the VHS. On Black Friday, I purchased a VHS-to-DVD recorder and you can be sure I will be recording the movie onto as many DVDs I can find. (Bonus: the new copy doesn’t have a shortened ending thanks to my brother taping over the last three minutes with a war movie.)
2) The Christmas Toy – Another Jim Henson ’80s TV gem; this came out a year before A Muppet Family Christmas and we also taped it onto VHS. The movie was about toys that come alive when humans aren’t around. Rugby – a stuffed tiger who is Jamie’s favorite toy – is afraid he’s about to be replaced by a new Christmas toy, Meteora. Sound familiar? Yes, it has a very Toy Story-vibe to it, and as Joshua Miller says in his side-by-side comparison of the film: “The story similarities between these two properties are so eerily similar that it is hard not to cry ‘thieves!’ into the night.” I also have to transfer my VHS copy to DVD, since the new DVD release is lacking all the scenes involving Kermit the Frog’s narration and, of course, the “Celebrate the season with Kraft” commercials that aired each break.
3) Christmas Eve on Sesame Street - I guess you can say I have a thing for Muppet specials. My favorite scenes involve Cookie Monster trying to write a letter to Santa. Two years ago, Mom and I went to Manhattan for our annual Christmas jaunt, and I surprised her with a trip to the former Barnes & Noble in Lincoln Center to see Bob McGrath sing – including “Keep Christmas With You.” It’s one of my favorite holiday memories ever.
4) It’s A Wonderful Life - No Muppets, but it does have characters named Bert and Ernie (but Henson sources say it’s only a coincidence). Every year, I marvel about how short the time with Clarence is – but the scenes are the most impactful, making them seem much longer in my head. (Side note: it’s hard to watch Henry Travers, who played Clarence, in The Bells of St. Mary’s after watching this.) It’s also a Christmas film that I will only watch in black and white. Last year, my VCR ate my well-worn copy, which prompted me to replace most of my Christmas VHS tapes with DVDs this year.
5) Elf – It’s hard not to love this film (even without Muppets). It’s extremely difficult to make a Christmas classic these days, and Jon Favreau nailed it. It’s also on the top of my “Most Quotable Films” list (which only exists in my head, so don’t go looking for it). I also love the whole New York vibe.
6) Home Alone – Every child’s dream and nightmare rolled into one, but a heartwarming Christmas movie.
7) A Charlie Brown Christmas – What’s not to love about any Charlie Brown holiday special?
8) A Christmas Story - No film captures a childhood Christmas better than this film. Also #2 on my “Most Quotable Films” list.
9) Will Vinton’s Claymation Christmas Celebration - What wowed us before CGI. This film (from the creator of The California Raisins) is absolutely spectacular, and many times, beautiful. My favorite parts are the ones dealing with the explanation of “The Wassail Song” and “We Three Kings.”
10) Smokey Mountain Christmas – A totally campy made-for-TV movie starring Dolly Parton involving orphans, a backwoodsman, and a witch. What’s not to love?
For Auld Lang Syne
Published January 1, 2011 | I can’t believe it’s 2011 already. It seems that only a few years ago, I was sitting at my best friends’ house, waiting for the world to explode as the clock hit midnight on January 1, 2000. Eleven years since Y2K – imagine that! As the ancient Romans would have said: tempus fugit.
2010 was a good year, although it ended on a very sad note. My grandmother, who had just turned 92, passed away on December 29. She’d gone to Atlantic City in October, and her health deteriorated quickly from then. In December, we arranged hospice care at home, and on December 20 (her birthday), she fell into a comatose state. We had Christmas as usual, hoping the sounds and smells would comfort her, but it wasn’t the same.
Around 2:15 a.m. on December 29, I was walking through the living room (where her hospital bed was) and noticed she was not breathing. I woke Mom and told her, “I think this is the end.” Mom held her hand, told her to have a peaceful journey, and Grandma sighed her last breath. She was gone.
This photo of Grandma and I was taken in August, during a celebration of my fifth year of remission.
While we waited for the hospice nurse and funeral home director that morning, the bell on the Christmas tree randomly rang. Continue reading
The Christmas Creep
Published November 5, 2010 | Today, CNN had an interesting iReport titled “Christmas Creep Invades NYC.” Of course, anyone who works and/or lives in New York City knows that this is nothing new. Weeks before Halloween, Duane Reade and other stores stocking (no pun intended) on Christmas decorations, wrapping paper, greeting cards, and other holiday fare. I even joined in the disgust in an article I wrote for the November 12, 2003 edition of Fordham University’s The Ram, which you can read here.
But for the past few years, Christmas has been speeding by. Sure, I attend a lot of secular holiday parties, put up decorations, and listen to Christmas straining from every radio within earshot. But the spirit, the wonder, and the fun has been quickly disappearing. I’ve been working too hard and am too wrapped up in life to enjoy it as I once did. Continue reading
Happy Mother’s Day!
Published May 9, 2010 | And now a public service announcement from Mr. T:
The song is from a video called Be Somebody… or Be Somebody’s Fool from 1984. The video not only includes Mr. T, but a young Martika (of “Toy Soldiers” fame) and Stacey Ferguson, also known as Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas. Both were in the ’80s show Kids Incorporated.