Hi there, lovely folks!

Della, my husband, and I just got back this morning from a much-needed mini-vacation in the Texas Hill Country. 

We played ping pong (I won, but only because they had the paddles I love) and mini-golf (he won, but only because, well, because he’s waaaay better than I am at golf). We ate yummy food, watched a movie (MI4…completely brainless but pretty fun, nonetheless), did some shopping (I didn’t find a thing, except a super-cute BCBG leather motorcycle jacket for $60—originally $250—but I passed on it…trying not to kick myself for that one, but I didn’t need it, and that’s a fact), and just generally relaxed and enjoyed each other’s company.

The kink in my shoulders that’s been there since about week 4 of Shaun’s work trips has finally loosened its vice-grip, and the constant, niggling feeling of, “You’re forgetting something,” has lessened considerably. (Probably mostly because I’m just doing a better job of ignoring it, but oh well).

A HUGE thanks to both sides of our families for keeping our kids. You guys are life-savers!

Well, I haven’t said much about our Christmas(es).  We do three each year—one with Shaun’s family, one with mine, and one with our best friends, Mandy and Robert and their kids (who are our kids’ best friends too).  The group numbers and “methodologies” vary a bit, but all are low-key, which I definitely prefer (no fancy forks for me, thank you).

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This is my side. It’s just my brother, Shae (far left…anybody see any similarities between us? We usually get that we look just alike or are married, so it kind of varies widely), and I, as far as kids go (and he’s still looking for Miss Right, so I don’t have any blood nieces or nephews yet…boo!), so Shaun and our kids and I sort of take over when we visit my parents’ house. Someday I’ll have to tell you about how we all (minus Della) lived in their second story for a whole year!

ANYhoo, Christmas was full of good food, a few cat-naps, and great company.

Of course, there were some gifts exchanged as well, and I feel like I got pretty stinkin’ spoiled.

Thanks to my sweet hubby, I now have this fancy die cut machine:

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I got a Cricut Cake, not because I’m itching to get into fancy cake-making but because the reviews said that, with a few simple modifications, it could do exactly what the other Cricut machines could + the cake options. Oh, aaaaand, it was about 1/3 of the cost of the others.

I am both itching to use it and dreading figuring it out (technology is not my strongest suit).

And thanks to my father-in-law, I have this pretty new plaything:

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That would be my brand new Kindle Fire, complete with a fab red cover that he picked out for me. (I have now officially been introduced to the Angry Birds cult craze, and, I’ll admit it: I’m a fan).

My FIL gives really great, thoughtful gifts every year.

But then he’s a really great, thoughtful guy!

Further proof:

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Do you recognize those mugs from my “Favorite Things” post?

Well, my awesome father-in-law—who reads my blog every day (hi, Butch! : ))—read that post and then ordered a mug for every letter in my name (including his first attempt at spelling it…let’s just say that I got a bonus “Y” mug…sorry, Butch, couldn’t resist! ; )). Oh, and he got me an entire Sam’s Club-sized case of gourmet hot chocolates in various delicious flavors!

Pretty amazing, right?

But did you notice that “H” there in the back?

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Yeah, that would be the initial for our last name, and that’s the mug that my bestie, Mandy, had already gotten me before I ever wrote the post about how much I liked them (she was annoyed at me for writing it because she was afraid I would get duplicates after other people read it, but it actually worked out perfectly).

If you read my 5 Things Thursday Christmas post, then you know that I’m getting to be a bit of a Scrooge about the gift-giving aspect of Christmas and all of the excess and crass commercialization of a holiday whose entire focus should be the Savior who was born to die.

But I have to admit that I loved my gifts this year because they reflected the careful thought and consideration of the loved ones who know me best and care about me most.

And that, my friends, is pretty darn cool.

Hope you all have a marvelous weekend!

I certainly plan to.

14 Comments

  1. We got the kindle fire also. I am still trying to hold out on the Birds though. The rest of the family has caught the craze. I am addicted to Bubble Buster and the lending library.
    Also thanks for becoming a follower of my blog today

  2. Love those Anthro mugs too!! For a brief time (not sure if it was 2 or 3 days) Anthro had them for $4 each so I gifted myself one (hehe:P) only to find out that my step-daughter had bought one for me too (except she paid the full price)…she was so annoyed with me..LOL!

    I’m interested to find out how the Cricut cake works out for you so keep us posted!

    BTW thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a thoughtful comment for my pillow…too sweet! If you do make it, I hope you share it with everyone:)

  3. Hi Abby, what an awesome blog you have! I’m following now so I won’t miss a thing! Thanks for your kind words.
    Lovely family by the way:)

  4. Those are some cool gifts. Thanks for stopping by bacon time. I already follow with GFC. Have a happy New Year’s Eve.

  5. Hi Abbie! Thanks so much for the sweet comments on my post, so glad you stopped by. You are just the cutest thing! Love your Thrifted or Grifted outfit posts. And I am slightly jealous of all the goodies you got for Christmas, hehe. But even more jealous that your FIL reads your blog! Lucky duck, I can barely coax my own dad to peak at mine, haha. Hope you have a wonderful New Year’s! Looking forward to getting to know you and read what you have in store for 2012.

  6. Ah! So jealous of the Kindle! I’ve been wanting that ever since it came out! And I absolutely adore my cricut, I’m too scared to try the cake one though. I hope all 3 Christmases were fantastic and a happy New Year to you!

  7. Your brother is adorable! I’m looking for Mr. Right…;) Those mugs are great-I especially love the green and yellow ones.

I love hearing from you guys!