I have to say that it is seeing my children. Since they are such "go getters," I don't see them that much, (also, boys are like that.)

Seeing them was enough but I'd say my favorite gift was in the package my younger son gave me: A book that was his favorite at this time. Since he has such good taste in authors, it IS lovely.

"White Teeth" by Zadie Smith

Dancer, reader all of the time...

I have to say that my very favorite gifts were my assorted Christmas cards from my friends. I felt so fortunate when reading the notes hand written they contained. I was really taken back by several from old friends not heard of for years.
These are to me gifts that keep on giving.

My friend gave us a nice, large electric griddle. I am in absolute heaven! Now I can go back to making my homemade english muffins! My old griddle bit the dust several years ago.

I think my favourite gift was the surprise Christmas concert our granddaughter gave Christmas night. She's 7 (well, she was 7 at Christmas but is 8 now), and despite an already heavy workload of constant homework, Chinese school, ballet, art and regular piano lessons, she managed to borrow a book of Christmas music from her piano teacher, learned about 15 new pieces and practised them every day for weeks, just so she could give us this surprise concert. A true gift from the heart.

My favorite gift was Christmas Eve when dear hubby presented me with a generous gift certificate to an awesome spa! I plan to indulge!!!

We'd had the family here for Thanksgiving (24-26) and I wasn't exactly excited to turn around and do it again on Christmas. When I shared with my family that we might be going to one of my sisters for Christmas dinner, they were surprised and shared that we'd never left home on Christmas so why would we do it now?

I told them I didn't think I had it in me to do the Christmas thing in the morning, lunch, then turn around and do the dinner thing too. We also have company for Christmas lunch. I mentioned to Matt, who loves to cook, that if he took charge of dinner (we'd pay for it, he'd plan and prepare) then we'd stay home and do the dinner. He accepted and took over. He organized what others felt like bringing. I did a bit of food shopping with him, he did the rest on Christmas Eve, then he prepared and delivered a scrupmtious dinner which all of us enjoyed.

Not having to plan, prepare and serve Christams dinner allowed me to kick back and enjoy my Christmas Day a bit more. I didn't even feel guilty, or try to help when he peeled five pounds of potatoes. He's good at it and went to town. He made special dressings, sauces, grilled, used the oven and stove, and it was delish.

Being 50 has allowed me to say, "I can't do it all, nor do I want to." It's liberating!

I'm enjoying reading your favotie gifts. Fun post.

DI!! Homemade English muffins? I'm coming over, invite or not! ha! How wonderful to be able to do that!

everyone has great gifts to share, I'm enjoying it.

Lady Jane, my friend, if you can't use the spa certificate, I'd be glad to take it off your hands. What a wondeful gift!

Dancer

Does anyone give/get a gift for New Years Eve? My husband Chet use to give me a new charm for a bracelet he bought me as a wedding gift. I think I looked forward to that little charm more every year than any other gift and he always picked just the right event to get a charm for. When he passed away his attorney give me a little blue box with a tiny golden 'lily' on a heart. SIGH!

That's sweet, Chatty!
Dancer

Homemade english muffins? Wow! Can't you just smell them, all the
way from NM. A gift certificate to a spa: How lovely. And
food gift certificates. A son who cooks? I assume Matt is Dotsie's son. And charms for New Year's Eve. These are neat
gifts. I got new boots. Don't want wet, cold feet ever again.

Yep, keep imagining those English Muffins....'cause they've not gotten made yet! But they will, come heck or high water!!

lol myself and L still eating yesterdays muffins two type of chocolate white and milk cocolate muffins, sorry to rub it in ladies but their yummie and not something i bake iwth L its our first

English muffins and homemade bread. Ummmmmm breathe deep!
Don't you just love 'em???

I started dieting yesterday so I'm leaving this forum. My mouth's watering. Not a good thing. Breads are my weakness.

Dotsie, I started dieting yesterday too. Doing South Beach right now, because I had decent weight loss quickly (in the past) and that keeps me motivated.

I'm going to Hawaii next summer, and I'm motivated to wear a bathing suit!!

South Beach is the low card diet, right? That would work for me becasue I'm the Queen of Carbs, but no longer. I'm definitely cutting carbs a bit. Can't cut them completely.

Good luck. When are you going to Hawaii? Hubby and daughter are going to Maui in June.

Yes, it's low carb but healthier than Atkins. The first 2 weeks you eat lean meats, salads, etc. Pretty much cut out the sugar and all white stuff like bread, rice, potatoes.

After the 2 weeks, you slowly add in fresh fruits with lots of fiber, such as berries. You can also add in fibrous foods like beans and oatmeal, etc. The first two weeks is very hard for me, because I do believe I'm addicted to sugar. It's so hard. Plus I'm a stress eater. So I'm keeping some beef jerky and some nuts near by desk to tide me over.

I believe we'll be going in June. I don't have the exact dates yet, but probably mid-June. Ryan graduates from high school in the 4th, so it will be after that. We'll be there two weeks. (Kona, on the Big Island)

Maybe I can take a little inter-island hop and go see Diamond!!

Good luck with the diet. If you're addicted to sugar and carbs, I bet you'll lose quickly.

Are you taking Ryan for his graduation? Maybe we could introduce our kids to one another. HA! Actually, my daughter is older. She's 21.

Yes, I expect to lose about 7-8 lbs the first week, then more gradual weight loss after that. I'll start an exercise program next week (I hope!). If I try to do it the week that I start, I get too hungry and blow the diet. Have to let my body get used to this no sugar thing.

Actually, we are going kid-free to Hawaii. Dan goes over to Kona for two weeks about six times a year. I don't get to join him very often, and have never gone with just the 2 of us. Very much looking forward to that.

Ryan has decided he wants to join the army like his brother did, so will probably ship out sometime in July. He's lived in Hawaii for 2 years and been many times, so he'd rather stay home without the parents. Although, I wonder what he'll eat? He's not one to fix his own meals. Probably live off of cereal, junk food and quesadillas.

Cinnamon helps a person lose weight! Add cinnamon!

I LOVE cinnamon, however I can't put it on my eggs or meat. I'll be sure to add it to my oatmeal when I can add that to my diet.

Hmmm, cinnamon toast sure sounds good! Good thing I don't have any bread on hand...

Cinnamon is good for many other things besides not being fattening in any way. I love cinnamon toast with hot tea and of course on oatmeal. I also take a cinnamon capsule everyday for my diabetes, it helps regulate glucose in the blood. Never heard of it on eggs or meat unless on ribs mixed with other ingredients for a rib rubbing glaze.

Inhaling cinnamon and taking folic acid, they said sharpens
mental capacity. Hey, I'll try anything that will make me
smarter! I have experimented with whether or not it helps
keep weight in check. I've concluded, it does!

Inhaling cinnamon?????

Good grief hun...you know they say that doing Sudoku sharpens the brain too but I would rather have a root canal than do Sudoku....don't tell my sisters or mom though. They love it.

Gimme a good old fashion jigsaw puzzle (1,000 pieces and up) and leave me in a corner, I'm happy. Gimme a good crossword, Cryptaquote, or Word Find puzzle. But puleaseeee don't give me Sudoku OR that game, what's it called? Oh yeah, Scrabble.

Jab...make sure you read the label good before you start to snort the Cinnamon...make sure you don't pick up the Cayenne!

I like cinnamon alot but to inhale it, nope, not me!

Think I worded that wrong: 1st I breathe in Cinnamon Sugar and
don't snort it! And anything with a cinnamon smell, like candles
and those scented whisk brooms, etc. is what I was referring to.
Please don't think I snort anything. No way! And I ingest small
amounts of cinnamon sugar, which probably wouldn't be good for
folks with limitations on their intake of sweets. You know, they have cinnamon capsules on the market. And that's what I take; 1000 mg; lab tested for potency, purity, and disintegration. 100% Quality Guaranteed! Don't worry! I'm not as goofy as I sound! LOL...

Girl, you take Chatty and me too seriously...we were just yanking your chain....we knew you didn't snort it. Just overlook our silly selfs!

JJ,
I think what I posted, must've sounded silly, too. We're just
too funny! LOL....

Well I am a firm believer that if we can't laugh at ourselves theres no fun in the world as we know it, plus being silly is beneficial to the soul...LOL!

Agree! It's that ole cliche, "Laugh and the world laughs with
you, cry and cry alone!" I'd rather laugh!!! LOL...