We paid our property taxes.
Sexy, no?
From my mom, a matronly looking sapphire earring and necklace set ( I’ve always received matronly looking jewelry from her. I should be looking like Margeret Dumont by now.) If I ever find time to go to the store she bought them from, I’ll exchange it. Their lovely, if I was 70 and having tea with the Queen.
From my MIL, a set of ikea pots and pans ( this is the fourth or fifth set of pots and pans I’ve been given in 16 years. From her.) I am in a committed relationship with assorted Caphalon and my cast iron skillet, so I’m not sure what to do. Also, a slightly less matronly gray-black pearly necklace that is more wearable once in a blue moon.
A stuffed octopus puppet you can put your fingers into and wiggle around the tentacles. (THIS IS OBVIOUSLY THE BEST PRESENT.)
I also bought my husband the graphic novel Bone, which he said he wanted me to read first, and so I’m reading it, and I love it. Technically his present, but I’m beginning to feel like it’s mine.
Also: fancy long underwear from my SIL (Pepper Skins), Jelly Bellies, a Buddha t-shirt that says, ‘‘CHILL,’’ a box of chocolates, a bunch of random stocking stuffers, and a hand-knitted potholder from ivylass, who I got to meet for the first time yesterday!
One of the best gifts of all was stuff we got other people – splurged on my SIL and got her DJ Hero complete with stand. She’s played it all of three hours and is already on ‘‘Hard’’ mode, because she’s kind of amazing like that. We also bought for SIL’s fiancée for the first time, I went risky and got her spider gemstone earrings and matching necklace. Thankfully she’s quirky like that and loved them. She said she felt so welcomed by our family, and that is the best gift of all.
ETA: We are going out on a private pontoon boat tomorrow to see manatees! This is the best Christmas ever.
A digital camera
A Pandora bracelet with my birthstone on a charm
A necklace
A total of $250 in gift cards to Home Depot (I have to share this with my boyfriend - gotta love buying a new house!)
A really soft sweater
The new Stephan King book
Some Christmas decorations (most of ours broke during one of the two times our Christmas tree fell over)
and last but definitely not least…
A 3-disk set of Jim Croce CDs. Sweet.
I got totally sandbagged by SWMBO this Christmas. A little background is indicated.
I play guitar. When I came down with arthritis, I had to get rid of my 12 string because I couldn’t play it any more. I could barely play my 6 string at intervals. When I went on the new medication, it worked so well that I started playing my 6 string more and more. When I went into the local guitar center, I would take time to play some different guitars and would usually wind up with my hands on a 12 string.
My stepdaughter’s guitar was stolen in a burglary. We decided to replace it and concocted a scheme where I would dig my guitar out and play it for a while on Christmas Eve, then put it back in the case and lean it in the corner. We would then later swap my guitar for Anne’s new one and it would be “hidden in plain sight”, so to speak.
All went well, exactly as planned. Except…SWMBO pulled a double-switch. She had bought me a 12 string that I had been lusting over and she put it in the corner where I had Anne’s guitar. Anne was in on this part of it; she thought that SWMBO was simply switching my guitar for the new one and didn’t know that the guitar being switched out was hers.
That woman is evil and sneaky and conniving and far, far better for me than I deserve.
Two sweaters from my daughter
A Kindle from my husband
Cash from my Dad
Coffee mug from my daughter’s boyfriend
Various chocolates from my daughter’s boyfriend, MiL, friends
Some statue thing from my MiL
Gift card for Penneys from my son
Gift cards for dinner and a movie from my sister and BiL
Nutcracker from my mother
A bath set that was regifted (I gave it to my Mom last year and she gave it back this year:rolleyes:)
A beautiful necklace that one of my friends made. She does awesome work.
Jammies from a friend
A set of heavy tumblers for drinks from a friend
A little Santa that has his arms wrapped around dish towels from a friend
Lotion from a friend
Various booze gift sets (tequilas and vodkas) from a friend
Various German treats
There was more, but that’s all I can remember.
I must say, my friends and family were extremely generous.
I got an after-Christmas present yesterday from my ex (still a good friend) who is a talented dumpster-diver. It’s a 500 gig external hard drive!! One of the places on his route is a very, very upscale apartment building where people routinely discard such things. It works perfectly.
It’ll come in handy, because I keep a folder of his favorite music on my pc for whenever he loses his ipod and then gets a new one. It saves him a lot of grief, but it’s gotten pretty big.
I got the iPhone that I’m using to write this post. It’s awesome. I’ve found it pretty easy to use the keypad, too, despite the various complaints I’ve heard.
From my mum and dad: a blanket that snaps and zips into a wrap thingie, a shopping trip with mum, some grooming type stuff (like a nail file), a flashdrive with photos on it, chocolates, a cashmere sweater
From my sister and her new husband: framed photos from her wedding featuring my boyfriend and me, some molding sand
From my brother: a Flight of the Conchords CD
From my uncle: a Target giftcard
From my grandpa: 20 bucks in cash
From some family friends: a tin of gingerbread and fudge
From my boyfriend: a sweater from Express and a pencil skirt
A Cat-a-Day calendar and a picture frame (both picked out by me) from the kids.
A scented candle and a Christmas washcloth from Grandma.
Pasta bowls from Mom.
And from my husband, an iTouch, so I can get downloadable audiobooks from the library. As a technophobe, I am approaching this thing with much trepidation, but once I learn to use it I think I’ll love it.
I got an interesting gift at work too. A doctor that I never do anything for (besides unlock his office when he has forgotten his key) gave me a rainbow-enameled, rhinestone-studded pelican figurine with a hidden compartment in its back. Yes.
The best gift I got this year was being able to celebrate Christmas with my family Saturday and Sunday after being snowed in on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. As I told them, as much as I always enjoy their company, I don’t think I’d ever been quite that happy to see them before. Anyway, here’s my list of loot:
From my husband: Wool hooded car coat with matching scarf and gloves, a sweater, a scarf (not the winter kind), and a pink Adrian Peterson Minnesota Vikings jersey. I picked out all of these things myself. We also bought ourselves a new alarm clock and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation on Blu-Ray.
From my mom: A crockpot (for both my husband and I; we asked for it), a cute Santa serving dish and knife, a couple of cheeseball/dessert mixes, some jarred dip that I’m kind of scared to try, and some dark chocolate-covered orange sticks.
From my dad and step-mom: A Swarovski crystal 2009 snowflake ornament and some bath salts.
From my grandma: A box of chocolate covered cherries (I get these every year), and $25.
From my nephew who drew my name: A radio with an iPod dock.
From my in-laws: A “Cooking for Two” cookbook and a plane ticket to Oregon (we took this trip together in October)
From my sister-in-law: Two beautiful Christmas decoupage pictures made from antique postcards.
From Santa: A stainless steel water bottle with a pair of sexy underpants inside, and a T-shirt with the name of the lake where my dad lives (how did Santa know?).
