Monday, December 18, 2006

That's A Wrap

Saturday was a blur of flour, sugar and eggs. We managed to crank out five different kinds of cookies and dog biscuits (all not pictured here). It was fun to hang around listening to Christmas music, baking with Dokey and Hillz.

I tried out a new brunch place with my friend Faith on Sunday. It's literally around the corner. The wait was an hour but it flew by with a latte in hand and good conversation. Then we headed over to I Heart Rummage which was smaller than I thought and crowded. Like the booths are so crammed in there it's difficult to get around. I got two men in my life gifts there so at least it wasn't a bust. I have one more gift to buy and I am done. Finished. Complete-o. I had such good intentions of hand-making many of my gifts but time, energy and inspiration did not collide as I had hoped. Why does the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas go so fast?

I have too many friends. I don't mean that I have to off any of them from my friend list, I'm just realizing that I buy presents for a LOT of people. And then for those I don't, I send a card. And for those that don't get a card, they get baked goods. I love giving. I like picking out a thoughtful present. There is an art to it. Sometimes if I can't find just the right thing or I don't have just the right amount of money to afford said perfect present, I feel frustrated. I don't want to get just anything. I know it's supposed to be "the thought that counts" and all- and yes, it does- but for someone (me) who is on a limited budget (hand to mouth), I want each buck to count toward greatness. I'm kind of afraid to look at my bank balance. I checked in on Saturday and got one figure but then recalculated last night and came up with a completely different number that was higher. In my mind, I'm going with the higher figure. Wouldn't you?

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Looks like Reveal Your Blog Crush Day 2006 was a hit. We've even been talked about on Blogebrity! Next year we will give more advanced notice. I certainly never thought it would take off like it did. Sandra is hiring a bodyguard if anyone is up for the task. The only requirement is that you must sing to her at the top of every hour, "I Will Always Love You" a la pre-druggie Whitney. I hope everyone had fun exposing their crushes!

7 comments:

Mrs. Ca said...

This year my husband and I put all our money toward others and aren't buying presents for each other, other than a few stocking stuffers. We're saving for a house (a night full of loud music from our downstairs neighbor reinforced this need) and we don't need anything else, and so family gets presents and everyone else gets a card with a nice sentiment. It's hard, and we feel bad, but it's all we can do this year.

On the Blog Crush note, I can't believe how big that got. It was a lot of fun reading about everyone's crushes, and I found some great new sites (not that I needed to add any more to my daily reads, but I did). Thanks to you and the others for getting this rolling!

sue said...

What a busy time you're having!

On the gift front: Watch your mailbox!

Blog crushing - so fun! Who knew?

Anonymous said...

I get frustrated when I can't find the right gift, too. As if people will think I'm a bad gift giver because I didn't spend $1,000- crazy, right?

Glad your crush day went well- that was a cute idea, I just have a crush on EVERYONE! :)

Bone said...

I'm with you on the bank balance. My debit card was smoking Saturday.

I'd definitely go with the higher balance. Let the bank track you down if they have a problem :)

Karl said...

You and Sandra created a Net sensation! Woo hoo!

Becky said...

My family grew too big so I had to start cutting off friends, but most of them seemed relieved. But, I like your idea of baked goods and small gestures. Seems like perhhaps our culture has gotten away from the "point" of the holiday and we're more concerned with how much we spend.

Anonymous said...

We've had to cut way back on gifts this year also. But I also pick up things throughout the year which seems to lessen the pain of seeing the checking account dwindle.

Even though I have 4 brothers, 2 sisters, 17 nieces and nephews, a mother, 3 "kids" and 2 grandsons, we do a "secret Santa" type of thing for everyone except the grandkids. I just couldn't afford to do everyone in the family! I'd have to sell my body on a street corner a couple of times a week to keep up!