Finding the perfect Gift

Gift giving is one of those challenges that we all face at least once in our lives. It is a balancing game between what you can afford and what you want to get with the added twist of guessing what the other person would like. So I have come up with this helpful little guide. :)

The great presents are not a matter of how much money you spend despite what some people think, it is about the thought. And yes I know it is trite to say 'its the thought that counts', especially as it is usually applied to disappointing gifts.

The greatest gifts fall into three categories. The first is gifts that show you pay attention to the person you are gifting. The best example I have is a little gift basket I got in college that contained among other things some 'refreshing' foot lotion because the giver had heard me talk about how tired my feet felt after walking all over campus. It showed that they listened to me and paid attention to what I said not just what I said I wanted or the obvious thing. These are some of the greatest gifts because they are hard to think of and you do have to pay an awful lot of attention to get it right.

The second category of gifts are the things that the receiver would never get for themselves. This one is tricky, occasionally they will tell you what these things are or give broad hints, usually however you have to pay attention to what they linger over in stores and online or see what they give others (we tend to give the sort of thing we would like to receive.) One of these gifts was a barbie (Portugal princess) While I would buy a barbie for myself (maybe) I would not have bought one of the theme ones (mainly cause it cost more money then the regular one, and I already had one barbie).

The third type of great gift is all about the time and effort the giver puts into it. It can be as simple as a card or a poem or as complicated as a hand knitted garment. It is something that comes from the giver personally, that they have given up their time for and put a bit of themselves into. And the very best gifts of this type show that you know the receiver and what you feel for them and that makes it even more special.

The one things all the greatest gifts have in common are the givers relationship with the receiver. The gifts show how important the receiver is to them, because they show that time was taken to select the right gift and that the receiver is important enough to the giver that they have noticed even the little things.

Xmas Spirits

I abhor egg nog. It is unbaked custard and that is just wrong. But every once in a while I come across something that makes me rethink that decision, at least momentarily. This article from NPR is one of them. But I think the best part of the article is this quote...

The FDA advises against ever eating raw eggs, but then the FDA asserts that everything on Earth should be heated to at least 160 degrees before eating — which would give plain old scrambled eggs the texture of shoe leather.

I must admit though Starbucks has a Chai Eggnog Latte that is stupendous.

WEEEEE!!!!!! WEEEEEEEE!!!!

So I had a long weekend and enjoyed it thoroughly. Not that I got any knitting done or half of the other things I wanted to do. But still it was good and I feel much better for it.

No knitting occurred for various reasons, the one I am going with is those darn puppies! Dragging yarn all over the floor and digging in my bag seems to be a alot of fun. So I spent some time making the puppies scared of the yarn (ie: every time they got to close to it I hit them.) Now normally I don't approve of violence directed towards poor defenceless puppies but in this case I will make an exception. My yarn WILL be safe from the pillaging horde!

I did not get the car registered but I did get my tickets paid and insurance changed and the Tax on the house is 500 less then expected so WOOO HOOO on that. I got turned down on financing from Dell which is not surprising but darn I wanted a green computer to play WOW on.

I created a COW with Indra in WOW and got to level 7 before I became unconscious. It was alot of fun. And I named him Huerdinan (I get bonus points for making Frog groan). This of course made me want my own computer even more. Wish I could convince Dell I can afford 50 dollars a month for a laptop.

I had a 7 hour call today. 7 Hours! but that means I am heading home early, which in turn means you will get shopping goodness tomorrow. :)

Luv Ya bubye

Good eats

The food fairy visited me this morning! She brought Gingerbread! mmmm Gingerbread! Does the food fairy know me or what?

I have a long weekend coming up and once again way to much to do. I really need to work on that whole getting a life thing. But with any luck I will be able to sort it all out before I get too much older. wish me luck.

Due to the season I have once again started thinking about what I want, not only for Xmas but also from life. It is hard, there are so many things I want but so little I need and most of everything seems beyond my grasp most of the time. Some day soon (after thanksgiving) I will post a list of links and things for gift giving ideas, mostly for myself. but for any one who is curious too. Today though I am going to keep it simple all I want for Xmas is love.

In other news Cranberries rock. Red and bouncy and full of good stuff that made the itchy burny bladder infection go away. So yes my weekend sucked but I felt pretty darn good by Monday. Which is very disappointing cause I wanted to do naughty things this weekend.

Dream a Little Dream

Last night I dreamed one of those strange dreams.... you know the ones where everything seams so real and yet surreal at the same time. I was on a trip / running away from something / going to college and I was transported into the past and transfigured into a statuesque black woman in a really short dress and really high heels.
Then I was working at a gas station with several other people a couple whom I knew from the future. The gas station was 3 stories tall and had no bathroom.
On the first floor it had a typical gas station setup (with rather suspicious looking 'baked' goods) and showers, don't ask me why there were showers. I don't know even in the dream I didn't know, I just accepted. The second floor had bedrooms, a kind of dormitory setup, but still no bathrooms and on the top floor was a Chapel and a conference area and a huge kitchen (where the suspicious looking 'baked' goods were made. But still no bathrooms.
The chapel and conference area was overtaken by knitters and crocheters who had baby blankets for charity spread all over the place. There a bunch of pagans having a circle in a closet on the second floor (for some reason this involved a man standing on one leg like a stork while calling quarters.) who seemed surprised that I wasn't horrified at finding them.

I still am not sure why there were no bathrooms.

The possum came back the very next day

So last night when I opened the door for the cats the possum was back. This time however I did not shriek like a little girl. nope not me. I instead went in side microwaved some water and gave the thing a bath. That'll teach it!

This weekend The puppies discovered my knitting bag, shortly there after I discovered my yarn all over the floor. Repeatedly. And to make it worse there is not potpourri all tangled up in it. Normally I am not some one to exspouse animal cruelty but in this case I will make an exception. Any puppy going after my yarn is going to get thumped. hard.

Work is stressing me out and my weekends are jam packed full. I really really need a break, I am hoping that Thanksgiving will give me a break. I really need / want to have more time to knit and just relax. What I really want is a super secret hideout, like the bat cave where I can relax and no one can find me except in emergencies. And all the bat gadgets are cool.

Anouther day older and deeper in debt

Possums are evil, unnatural abominations that I should never have to see or interact with. And yet there one was sitting in the garbage Saturday morning, staring at me. I will admit that I shrieked and hurried back inside but that was no excuse for Frog to claim it was the most 'girly' thing he had ever seen me do. And there was definitely no reason for him to mention it at the party. So now my options are to either show him how girly I can be or beat the humor at my possumphobia out of him. Though maybe a combination of the two would be best... hmmmmm..... Have to ask Indra...

The party was great! I wore my tall shoes and had alot of fun, Unfortunately, I must remember Tired Temper and tall shoes don't mix. Shirley's father died so she wasn't there, we got a card for her but I have no idea what happened to it, I know I didn't sign it though. And Clay wanted to play with us but time management issues occurred. All in all it was a good evening.

Monday traffic was a bitch and about half way to work I realized I would be late. So I pulled over and called in sick, I just couldn't stand the thought of being late to work. I finished getting the car running, now it just needs insurance, inspection and registration. I went to a book store and browsed a little, it was nice but I was left thinking either I need more money or friends with the same taste in books. To finish the day off I leveled my dwarf in WOW to 20 and went dancing in the lava in Ironforge to celebrate. Not a bad day

Today I worked. Tomorrow I work. Sometime soon I need to be knitting, Xmas is getting closer all the time.

All around the mulberry bush

Ok so I had stomach flu and was miserable and so no posts, and before that Halloween kept me busy and I didn't really post what I wanted to. but now I am going to play catch up.

Starting with... Lisa the marvelous Reiki master who made my neck work again. Woo Hoo Reiki! We were at a party the sat before halloween and my neck was swollen and sore and I was mucho miserable. Lisa came over and noticed my pain and offered to help. A half hour later I could move my neck and swallow and the pain was gone, the swelling went down and it was great. so once again I say All Hail the Master! and Woo Hoo Reiki!

I also got Yarn, 100% wool handspun for felting. I traded some very pretty silk / rayon blend for it. I did a happy yarn dance when it came in (after checking to make sure I didn't have an audience). It took me way to long to get the return package mailed out though, mainly cause I hate the post office but getting sick certainly didn't help. So I included some extras, she should get them today or tomorrow, I look forward to her reaction. Should I be embarrassed that a little undyed wool can make me so excited?


Had our first puppy class last week, Tank was a good boy and with liberal treating has got the look at me thing down solid and thinks the clicker is the bomb. And darn cute too! Unfortunately Bella didn't go, money is tight and I understand that even though I am not sure Indra really does. But it is all about priorities so I will give Frog and Lisa 100$ a paycheck and let them decide what to do with it.

And then there is the fun stuff.... just a sample mind, If you thought bacon is gods perfect food and chocolate a gift from the gods why not combine the two in this treat? A Bacon candy bar!