merry Christmas!

this year was a good year in terms of gifts... i think i like all the gifts i gave out, as well as i think i'll enjoy all the gifts that came in.

the mr. gave me a pretty nifty mountain bike, which will be exciting (and a little bit scary! but in the good way...). mom and dad got me a serger (to complement the sewing machine she gave me years ago) and a food processor, which makes me really happy! i think the both of us will have fun thinking of stuff we can make with it. so far, we've already committed to making a big batch of salsa =) i got a set of teaspoons for my kitchen from my roommate - and it made me so happy cuz all the spoons from the last set have disappeared, and i prefer eating with the smaller spoons. my brother and a. gave me a bunch of stuff to complement all the sports we've been doing - some ping pong balls and jackets for our new paddles, some boot socks to keep my toes warm, etc. and i got a puzzle book (always a hit!) from the mr.'s parents. i really like that i'm looking forward to using all my new stuff =)

as for the gifts i gave out, i think i did a really good job with the handmade blankets for my mom and for a. - they're nice and soft! my dad really needed the phone i got him, and my brother got the movie he had requested. i finally figured out what to give the mr. and ended up with a compilation of stuff for all of our different activities - a hiking book, a few tickets to the movies, a gift certificate for bass pro shops, and a promise of snowboarding pants when they go on sale after Christmas. for his parents, i got them a dvd set of a tv show they've been watching, which i'm sure they'll enjoy watching. i also gave my brother and the parents dark chocolate to gnosh on while watching their dvd's. yum! i love dark chocolate! and i know they do too!

tomorrow will be the friends' Christmas and i have a book for the host (something she's been looking for all over the place, so hopefully she enjoys it!), and some sheet music and guitar tab compiled for r. and j.

it's nice when you can spend time with family of relatives and also with your family of friends...

Merry Christmas to all!