Gifts, Gifts, Everywhere!!!!

What's the best gift you've ever received?

I recently saw something that asked this question, and it got me to thinking… I could answer this in a lot of ways! I could be funny (my dancing Frosty the Snowman); I could be sentimental (my husband and children); I could be religious (Jesus is the Reason for the Season); I could be sexy (um, I can’t say that out loud); I could be sarcastic (except I don’t really know how to be); I could be picky (Do you mean of all time? That’s a long time to remember! What about just from the past year?). It all depends on how you want to answer the question.

I’m usually a sentimental kind of girl. I tend to go for the Ahhhh moments. My husband and children truly are gifts. I’ve been married for almost half my life, and I’m grateful God gave me such a wonderful husband so young. I’ve always called my children my “Little Miracles”, because I suffered from infertility and had 3 miscarriages while trying to have them. I’m very grateful they are a part of our lives, and healthy, and relatively happy.

I’m not really a sarcastic type of writer, but I am a sexy kind of writer. Unfortunately, I’m not willing to share those details. ;) And we try to keep religion and politics off the blog as much as possible. I do actually have a Frosty the Snowman who dances and sings. We bring him out each Christmas. I’ve also kept my very first Homey Claus gift (my husband’s family’s version of an anonymous amusing gift that makes fun of something about you or that you’ve done in the past year). “Homey Claus” gifted me with my husband’s childhood step stool that says “Step up to be tall, Step down to be small” – the joke is I’m 5 foot tall as an adult and the words still apply to me. We still have that stool and currently use it so I can kiss my son goodnight in his new bunkbed.

But with my horrible memory, I tend to go with something fairly recent. We don’t go over the top with gifts at Christmas, but my hubby is great with the surprises! This is my favorite kind of gift. One year he gave me an iPhone (which I didn’t even know I wanted and now am addicted to!). One year he gave me a wonderful oil heater for my office, which is freezing in the wintertime (but not anymore!). I have many of those great, “Oh Wow” memories thanks to him! And this year the Playfriends surprised me with a combination birthday/Christmas present: my Kindle! I never saw that one coming, but I love, love, love it!

So how about you? How would you answer that question? Did you get an extra special Christmas gift this year?

Angel

If you just believe

One year when my boys were small, we went away for Christmas. They were quite excited about the possibility of having a white Christmas because one of their grandmas lived in the mountains. However, they were also quite concerned about how Santa would find them since they would not be at their regular place of residence and tucked into their usual beds.

"You just have to believe," I told them. "No matter where you are, Santa Claus will find you."

And sure enough, Santa found them that Christmas and every Christmas since. For it's been the custom to hang our stockings by the fireplace each Christmas and even my thirty-something son finds his filled.

This Christmas was a little different. I'm living in an apartment with no fireplace and my sons didn't visit me on Christmas. I'd planned to visit my mother at Christmas because I needed to begin establishing a "new normal" routine for this season, but when she had surgery earlier this month and spent two weeks in the hospital, the trip became even more important because she needed help with just about everything while she began her recuperation.

I'd decorated my new apartment with a small tree from the thrift store (why pay $75 for a tree when you can find the same thing for $7.98 at Thrift Mart?) and put a wreath on my door. I wrapped my patio railing with evergreen garland and tiny white lights, and I bought two poinsettias to brighten up my kitchen and dining table. I put out some candles and found a spot to hang the really pretty crystal and mistletoe ornament Angel gave me for Christmas, and in a last-minute fit of tradition, I put a stocking hanger on the built-in bookcase and hung up the stocking my mother made for me when I was a little girl.

The stocking qualifies as an antique now and probably should go in the Smithsonian, but that's another story. I commented in an email to the other Playfriends that I wasn't really sure why I hung it because there'd be no one to fill it.

You see, I'd stopped believing in Santa years ago and so had my boys. But hanging those stockings and filling them with trinkets and candy was just a little piece of their childhood I could hang onto. I saw them both this year on the Sunday before Christmas and instead of trinkets and candy in a stocking, I gave them a Walmart card in a gift card holder (Grandbaby got lots and lots of princess and Tinkerbell stuff including a Tinkerbell Pez dispenser, and that's another story too). Cop-out, I know. I guess I figured that was just part of the "new normal." With the gift card, they could buy food or put gas in their vehicles or purchase socks and underwear if that's what they needed.

So imagine my surprise when I got home from my trip late on Monday and found a message from Santa scribbled on the little white board stuck to my front door. And imagine further surprise when I discovered several small gifts under the tree that I hadn't put there. And color me gobsmacked (don't you just love that word?) when I glanced toward the bookcase and saw my stocking brimming with surprises!

I got a new journal (I almost bought one a few days before because I wanted to start a new one for my journaling -- that's gonna be one of my resolutions -- and counseling sessions in 2010 but hesitated for some reason), and a Starbucks card (tall lattes here I come!), some note cards (to write thank you notes for all my wonderful gifts), lots of candy (Snickers, Reese's peanut butter cups and Kit Kat bars! Santa, you remembered!) and an apple and cinnamon oil diffuser with the little sticks (my office is going to smell so good). Last but not least, a pair of socks with snowmen was stuffed into the toe of my stocking. And as I type this, I'm wearing them to keep my feet warm in the sub-freezing weather we're having in north Alabama.

Isn't it amazing how even when you stop believing, others don't? We all know Santa didn't appear in the flesh at my apartment, but the spirit of Santa did and I think you can all guess which four people make up that spirit.

Enjoy the song below and pay attention to the lyrics printed below the player. And thank you to my special Santas for reminding me I need to keep believing.

Children sleeping, snow is softly falling
Dreams are calling like bells in the distance
We were dreamers not so long ago
But one by one we all had to grow up
When it seems the magic's slipped away
We find it all again on Christmas day

Believe in what your heart is saying
Hear the melody that's playing
There's no time to waste
There's so much to celebrate
Believe in what you feel inside
And give your dreams the wings to fly
You have everything you need
If you just believe

Trains move quickly to their journey's end
Destinations are where we begin again
Ships go sailing far across the sea
Trusting starlight to get where they need to be
When it seems that we have lost our way
We find ourselves again on Christmas day

Believe in what your heart is saying
Hear the melody that's playing
There's no time to waste
There's so much to celebrate
Believe in what you feel inside
And give your dreams the wings to fly
You have everything you need
If you just believe
If you just believe
If you just believe
If you just believe
Just believe
Just believe
believe

Wish List

So, if you guys are anything like me, you spend the months of Nov and Dec trying to find the perfect gift for everyone on your list. I've hunted sales, haunted online stores and made countless phone calls searching for those hard to find, perfect gifts. And so far, I've not only found everything that I needed (at the best price) but I've also managed to snag a few much needed items for other people as well.

But while I go out of my way to make sure that I know what everyone else's list includes, I usually have a hard time figuring out what to put on my own list.

Part of this is just being an adult. I mean, if I want something I generally just buy it. Sure, I go without things sometimes but never anything I truly need or really can't live without. Of course, this makes Christmas a little difficult on the ones that I love. This year, though, there's one item on my must have list.

A Nook. For those that haven't heard about it, it's Barnes and Noble's answer to the Kindle. It has a few extra features that I'm excited about - a color screen, the ability to add memory and a lending feature. However, it's back ordered until Feb 1st right now. And while I will be getting it (from my wonderful Zilla) I won't have it right away. I can't wait to get my hands on it!

And no, just because it's arriving in Feb doesn't mean it can double as a Valentine's present! :-)

So, what's on your Christmas list? Is there something that you're excited to find under your tree? Do you have trouble making your own Christmas list?

Instigator

P.S. Problem Child is guest blogging today at Tote Bags n Blogs http://authorsoundrelations.blogspot.com/ Stop by and say hi!

The Addictions of PC

My name is Problem Child and I’m addicted to Nifty.

You know, the kinds of things that when you see them you say, “That’s so nifty!” I promise you, if you hear the word “nifty” come out of my mouth, you can bet real money I’m trying to figure out a way to get said nifty-ness home with me.

A lot of people are attracted to the Nifty – admit it, you have at least one gadget in your kitchen you picked up because you went “How Nifty!” when you saw it. (Tupperware Deviled Egg Carrier anyone?) It doesn’t matter if you never use it; you bought it for its inherent Nifty-ness.

My purse holder is nifty – it hooks over the edge of the table at a restaurant so I don’t have to put my purse on the floor or on the back of my chair.

The cup holder SP got me for my birthday is tres nifty. It was designed for scrapbookers to keep unfortunate spillage or condensation issues from spoiling their hard work. It clamps to the side of the desk.

A ball point pen/highlighter combo that sprouts Post-It flags from its cap? Nifty.

The app for my iPhone that registers all of those customer loyalty cards in one place? Nifty.

The Solutions website is just full of Nifty things…

Like this:

And how have I lived without these:

Not that I do home improvement projects, but hey, nifty!

I’m not sure who really needs this, but ….

This would solve some problems:

Kitchen timers! On a string! So you can hang it around your neck! Nifty.

(Solutions sends me catalogs. You know how teenage boys are about the Victoria’s Secret catalog? That’s me and Solutions.)

Nifty. I’m addicted to it.

Am I alone here with my nifty need? What truly nifty things do you have?

PC

(BTW, if you type “nifty” enough, the word really starts to look strange. Like you made it up or something…)

Please Don't Feed the Gryphons

So the other day, I got a gift. I did a friend a favor and she told me she had the perfect gift for me. Yay, presents! We had trouble getting together with schedules and such (nevermind she lives less than a mile from me) so she had a friend bring it to me. I get an unexpected gift bag one afternoon with a peculiar thing inside...

A little stone statue. Some kind of gargoyle, I figured.

Honestly, I don't know much about this sort of thing. As far as I knew, they were creepy little statues on old buildings, steeped in mythology. They sang in Disney's version of the Hunchback of Notre Dame (which I refuse to watch). Skymall magazine sells ones that fit on your downspouts and shoot water out of their mouths. That's about all I had on the subject. So I was surprised to find out this guy below is the guardian of the writer! Who knew?


Curled up in his beak was a scroll of paper that explained it all...

This is Alkimos.

His name means "valiant." He is of a very rare group of Story Gryphons related to the gargoyle family.


His kind have been raised since their creation as defenders of the two most valuable things to this world: the story and the writer.


His razor-like beak and ripping claws drives away all that is the anathma to a writer: procrastination and writer's block.
With his wings he protects you from the harshness of critics, while ushering in the warm winds on inspiration, urging you to write.

Alkimos looks like a statue, but he is not. He gathers all of the creativity in the room and focuses it on you. His world is you.

There is only one warning! Alkimos, like any story gryphon, needs you, the author, to write. If you do not, beware! He does not fade. He does not die. Instead, his unhappiness grows until it turns to rage. He focuses his fury on your most treasured object, the manuscript that is sitting there, waiting for you. He will shred that manuscript in his frustration. (The trainers are working on this flaw with little success.) It is up to you to make him happy by writing.

May the words constantly flow and your creativity always burn because... Alkimos is watching you, and will gladly use your story as a snack.

Very cool. I didn't know there was something like this! Given as much as I was whining about lucky charms a few weeks ago, one landed in my lap. Mo (which is what I've taken to calling him because Alkimos is far too big a word) is my new good luck totem. He sits on my desk looking quite regal amongst all the other crap I keep there. He looks down on me as I work. Watching. Waiting.

There have been no casualties as of yet, although there may be shortly if I don't get on it. :) I'm horrible at getting gifts - I never know what to ask for. I sort of foolishly hope people know me well enough to pick out something without me pointing and grunting like a 2 year old. I'm usually wrong, but every now and then, I get a very pleasant surprise. What's the coolest or most unexpected gift you've ever gotten?

SP

A Vacuum Cleaner & A Paperweight

Here we are on the eve of a new year and I’m wondering what kind of resolutions I should make for 2009 and what goals I should write on a little piece of paper and stick into the new fancy box I bought for the top of my desk. Last year I wrote the following:

* Finish the novel. (I am really close)
* Get PRO pin. (once I finish the book, I can start down this path)
* Sell 6 Trues. (I sold 10)
* Get in shape. (well…)

As I’ve been contemplating the goals I set last year and the ones I should set for 2009, I’ve seen a remarkable connection between them and the gifts I received for Christmas.

Santa (AKA Mr. Playground Monitor) was quite generous. The first gift I saw when I went into the great room on Christmas morning was a brand new Dyson Ball vacuum cleaner. How thrilling, you say. Well, I did need a new vac. Mine is about 15 years old, is making noises and has been discontinued so I can’t buy replacement filters and parts for it anymore. I’d mentioned to the DH we were going to need a new vac and that I’d LOVE to have a Dyson, since it’s the Rolls Royce of vacuum cleaners.

Apparently he test drove one at the store and was impressed as I, so now I have one. But there’s a very interesting tale here. The story of its inventor, James Dyson, is a lesson in hard work, struggles and ultimate victory. He’s the kind of guy who likes to make things work better. He’s Tim the Toolman Taylor without the grunting, blown fuses and over-engineering.

One of his first inventions was a wheelbarrow with a large ball instead of a wheel. In the factory that manufactured these, he noticed the air filter clogged constantly with powder from the paint. To combat this, he built a cyclone tower that used centrifugal force to remove particles from the air. Five years and 5000+ prototypes later, he’d invented the first bagless vacuum cleaner.

The vacuum cleaner industry wasn’t interested, though, because vacuum cleaner bags were a £250 million a year industry. They turned him away, but he took the design to Japan, the home of all things high tech, and the bright pink G-Force vac caught on. It sold for £2000 and was considered a status symbol. Dyson used the royalties from this machine to manufacture another one under his own name. Through the years he skirted the edge of bankruptcy to keep his patents current and even successfully fought a major US manufacturer in court over patent infringement. Many companies try to copy his design, but the Dyson still remains the benchmark against which all bagless cyclone vacs are measured.

Another item under my tree was a pewter paperweight from my sister. The engraving on it reads “Most things are difficult before they are easy.” Truer words were never spoken. In the process of almost finishing the novel this year, I learned that what I once considered an insurmountable task, is possible. I don’t think writing a novel will ever be easy, but little by little, through practice and perseverance it becomes a little less difficult.

I’m sure James Dyson felt that way too when he was being turned down by major corporations and then later fighting them when they tried to steal the very technology they said wouldn’t work.

So what’s going to be on the paper I put in the box for 2009?

* Finish the novel for real. Close only counts in horseshoes.
* Get my PRO pin.
* Pitch the novel at the RWA conference in July.
* Write more Trues to help fund my way to said conference.
* Start another novel.
* Get in shape. Really.

Every time I suck up dust bunnies and tracked-in dirt, I’m going to remember the man who never gave up. And when I see the paperweight on my desk, I’ll remember not only its message, but my sister who was my biggest cheerleader during NaNoWriMo.

I had another gift under the tree too – a FrothXpress. I’m not aware of any special story behind it and it’s not engraved with any motivational saying. But it sure does make a great latte, and I’ve found that a latte fuels my brain wonderfully when I’m writing. :-)

Tell us about a special gift under your tree – either this year or in years past. What made it special to you? And have you figured out yet what your New Year's resolutions are?

One lucky commenter will be selected to win a copy of the Bylines 2009 Writer’s Desk Calendar that features me on the first full week in January with a short article about – setting goals! Then you can be like Problem Child and me and chronicle your life in a calendar.