A Few of My Favorite Things

I had a fabulous Christmas. Sandy, Stephanie, Mindy and ALL 5 of the grands know me well! They know just what I like. They all say I'm pretty easy to buy for. That's a good thing! I'm easy to please. I like just about everything.

I must admit, I miss getting books. From the time I was a little girl, books were my most favorite gifts. I was 8 when Aunt Marie gave me Rebecca and Silas Marner.  I was much too young for them, but remember feeling so proud that she thought I could handle adult books.

Anyway, now that I have my Kindle----Which I Totally Love---it just removes the opportunity to get books. I don't even really want them. But, still I miss them.

I'm listening to Barbra Streisand on "Great Performances" while I write this post. I just love her! Plus, what a way to enjoy 3 hours of music (not all at one time) while I multi-task! I'm good at that. Il Volo is performing now---heaven.

I am not going to show everything that I received, just a few things that made me happy. That means not everyone is going to get a shout out. That doesn't mean I didn't like your gift---I don't think I got anything I didn't like this year---I'm just trying to keep it simple.

 Elizabeth picked out this little garden globe for me. She does all of her own shopping. Last year she gave me the light up balls for the pool. They looked so pretty at night. I'm going to keep this little globe in the sunroom rather than take it outside.

 Karolyn gave me this "E" cut from an old Reader's Digest Book. I just love it! Goes back to---I just love books. What a great idea for recycling too!

When I opened this gift, I was disappointed right away. And, I have to admit, I was not very gracious. I have NEVER wanted a big ole toaster oven---they just take up way too much precious counter space. But this year, I did want one---a very specific one. It's called a "Toastation" by Hamilton Beach. I used one at the Potter's beach house in October and really liked it---plus it was small. In fact, I got it for Mindy. Instead of that, Butch got me this one. Later he explained his reasoning---this one was rated better, is smaller than most (almost the same size as the "Toastation"---and he went out of his way to find me a white one!!! He knows me so well. I love white---so clean and crisp. That made all the difference. When I heard that, I fell in love with it. I can't believe I'm so excited now about a kitchen appliance!

 My Fitbit broke last year. I was so happy to get a new one. 2014 is going to be my year of health!! This does work. When you are wearing it, you have a tendency to do more---walk further, park further away, do more stairs---just because you want to get "credit" for it. Sadly, I did NOT get the treadmill desk I asked for. Maybe for my birthday. I would love to see how many miles I'll log if I can be walking while I'm reading and writing on my computer. I'll be able to really keep up with all of the blogs I follow.

These weren't exactly a Christmas present, but I put the bug in Elizabeth's ear that I could use some more potholders. These are my favorite type---just good old-fashioned looped pot holders.

This wasn't my gift, but it was such a good one that I had to share. Stephanie found this for Mindy. From the time Mindy was 9 months old, she loved Dumbo. I put it on for her every day. That gave me an hour and fifteen minutes where she was totally occupied. I guess you could say, I let the vhs tape babysit her! It's still one of her favorite rides at Disneyworld. The guy that makes these, orders the record of your choice---in this case, it is the Dumbo soundtrack---and then laser cuts it. He had everything---Beatles, Rolling Stones---they were incredible. This was big hit with Mindy.

A few other favorites were the Russell Stover chocolates, Yankee candle---Red Velvet Cake, a great assortment of Christmas towels (I put out an "ask" at the last minute about these---not knowing that Sandy had already purchased a beautiful set. She must have read my mind), One Direction "This is Us" dvd, The Great Gatsby and Jango because I love Leonardo. Mitchell gave me Jango, so we watched that together late one night. We've been watching movies together for a few years now. I told him that could be his traditional gift for me---pick the movie and then we'll watch it together. It's not like you take your grandson shopping and "out to lunch." Boys are different. I'm glad to have this with him.

Okay, I'll stop now. What was your favorite gift and why?

It's that time of year. I'm a mean cleaning machine!