So how was everyone's Christmas? It's depressing, as always, that it's over, but I actually made myself take down most of the decorations today. We took the tree down Sunday, and what a mess and a half THAT was. It took me 3 hours (no exaggeration) to get the tree needles out of my carpet. Of course, it didn't help that my poor cheapo vaccum practically choked on the needles and I had to unstop it twice.

How about the fact that the Memphis area had a "White Christmas" though? On Christmas Day, we all went sledding over at my Mother-in-law's house, and that was a hoot. We didn't have actual sleds, we just used whatever we could find. The "whatever" was some green plastic rubbermaid container lids, and some large pieces of cardboard. What made the day even more dramatic was that Michael's brother got stuck coming up the steep driveway, and so when Steve (Michael's brother-in-law) tried to help Michael's brother get his car up the hill, he slid backwards, and smacked into a tree. Merry Christmas! Then we were late getting to my parents' house afterwards, because we were actually smart and parked at the bottom of the hill, and my Mother-in-law's truck has 4-wheel drive, and Steve was using it to give all the "smart" folks a ride, two at a time, to and from their vehicles.

So in case anyone's actually wondering, here's what I got for Christmas:

From Michael:
1. $100 gift card to Cato (in case you didn't know, a clothes store), which I already spent yesterday on a poncho, 3 sweaters, a skirt, 2 pairs of earrings and a necklace.
2. A box of Bath & Body Works stuff...Black Raspberry Vanilla scented body spray, lotion and creamy body wash, and a Warm Vanilla Sugar scented jar candle.3. A box of Victoria's Secret stuff...a black nighty with thong undies...yes, thongs...no, I will not post pictures, lol, a set of 8 mini perfumes, red "candy" PJ's, and a cute Christmas ornament looking thing that had 3 shades of lip gloss in it
4. 3 DVDs...Spiderman, Spiderman 2, and 13 Going On Thirty
5. Thomas Kinkade light-up chapel with a working clock in it
6 . Thomas Kinkade calendar

From my In-laws:
$100 Walmart gift card, which I already spent yesterday on new couch pillows, a toaster, a blender, a lamp for my piano, and a DVD cabinet.

From my parents:
1. DVD/VCR combo player (which is actually mine and Michael's together)
2. A framed photo of my Dad from his retirement
3. A set of large drinking glasses...very much needed
4. A camisole...also very much needed
5. Set of fruit kitchen towels
6. Set of snowman towels
7. Clear snowman serving bowl
8. Bath & Body Works stuff...Sheer Freesia Scented body spray, lotion, shower gel, and hand soap
9. Sewing kit
10. Fleece pajamas

From my aunt:
A giant snowman cookie jar filled with cookies

From my grandma:
A set of Christmas towels and wash cloths

All in all, I guess you could say that I was very fortunate this Christmas and got a lot of nice stuff, as well as some very useful, practical items. Kind of a nice balance between the things I wanted and the things I needed.

I gave Michael:
1. Two PS2 games he wanted: Smackdown vs. Raw, and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas
2. A shirt & tie set
3. A Mississippi State sweatshirt
4. A Mississippi State mini replica helmet
(Note: DO NOT freak out, anyone, he likes State a little bit. It's perfectly okay to keep up with other teams sometimes. Besides, what do you get a Tiger fan that already owns everything in the freaking Tiger Bookstore? lol, Plus, it's not like it's OLE MISS!)
5. A Memphis Tigers jacket (which I gave to him early for the bowl game)
6. Bowl game tickets (which obviously I gave to him early). Sorry I couldn't ask Santa to let the Tigers win :(

Michael got from his parents:
$100 bill, which they called a "Universal Gift Card", which he's already spent a good chunk of on various stuff.

Michael got from my parents:
A massive tool set. Which of course, I've already told Michael they are "my tools", lol.

The kids got massive amounts of toys...far too many to list. It took me like a whole day just to get everything opened out of their boxes and put away somewhere in their rooms. They each got one pair of PJs and Travis got some socks too, but other than that, everything else was toys and books.

And to think, only 360 shopping days until Christmas!