The Haul and a Couple of Really Sad/Hilarious Photos

So??  What did you GET?  Tell me!  Tell me right now!  Allison and I used to always call each other the second we finished opening gifts so we could compare notes on our new stuff (now we do the same via email), and I still love hearing about what other people got for Christmas.  So please indulge me here.  If you don't want to do a full list, at LEAST tell me a couple of things you got.  Am waiting with bated breath.

Despite our failure to make it to Seattle for Christmas with my family (boo), we had a nice day here with Miles and the cat.  My mom had shipped all our gifts out to us, so there were plenty of presents to open, especially since the baby isn't able to open her own stuff just yet.  As usual, Joe way outdid me in the giftie department, but he is perfectly happy with the books and shirts and knives (kitchen, not, like, SURVIVAL knives) and, uh, socks he got.  Plus, a lot of the loot I received will result in my cooking more new and creative meals, so in that sense he benefits, too. 

For those who also have an odd fascination with other people's gifts, here's what I got: 

a pair of FitFlop wool clogs (SO. COMFORTABLE.  They're like wearing slippers outside);

a book about unique things to see and do in New York;

a book (really more of a massive tone) about New York history;

a Boppy pillow and cover;

a Cuisinart immersible blender (now I will not have to nap after reading soup instructions involving blending things in batches);

a DVD of the George C. Scott "A Christmas Carol" (which, in my opinion, is the ONLY "Christmas Carol" worth watching); 

the latest Rachael Ray cookbook and a subscription to her magazine (I get a LOT of mileage out of that chick); 

Pioneer Woman's cookbook (I love that it's so chock full of Ree's photos and commentary in addition to so many recipes);

a slow cooker and slow cooker cookbook (if anyone has slow cooker recipes, please feel free to share! I've never used one so I am kind of an amateur, but I think it's going to be great to have); 

A SLANKET (!!!);

a Bill Bryson book about the English language (he could write about paint drying and I would read it, but I also really enjoy geeky stuff like linguistics and etymology);

a trio of Rosebud lip balms (LOVE);

Fresh Lemon Sugar body wash and Hesperides lotion and soap; and

Diamond earrings (I TOLD you Joe TOTALLY outdid me on gifts!!).

And the baby got a lot of really beautiful clothes, a couple of super-soft loveys, some Mary Jane sockies (eee!), some suuuper cute sleep gowns, two lovely fabric books and a handmade sweater, hat, bootie and blankie set.  She really hauled it in, and she's not even BORN yet.  Spoiled girl. 

Also, I gave Joe a scanner, so we are now finally able to upload all the embarrassing photos of ourselves from grade school and beyond.  Which brings me to the following:

This was a birthday party I had that must have been the summer before fourth grade.  I believe I invited nine girls, and maybe one called ahead of time and said she couldn't make it.  NO ONE ELSE regretted, so we prepared for a full party.  The theme was stickers, and my mom and I had devised a scavenger hunt around the house that led each girl to her bag of stickers, which were then to be used to make little pieces of artwork (sticker tableaux, if you will). 

Allison came, of course, and so did another girl who probably showed up under duress since she lived nearby.  We must have waited around for half an hour for everyone else, but no one else appeared.  I think I may have even called to see if some of them were coming, because I distinctly remember speaking to one girl's mom on the phone and she said, "Oh, honey, the invitation is right there on our fridge and we just forgot about your party."  Oof. 

I mean, we had a good time, and honestly so long as Allison was there, I don't think anything else mattered to me, but it makes me sad to think about.  Especially when I look at how earnestly I'm holding my sticker art, like I'm all proud of it and I really had fun even though almost no one came to my party. 

And then.  There is this -- possibly the saddest, yet most uproariously hilarious, photo ever taken:

This was spring break, fourth grade; my family road tripped in our Chevy Malibu Classic up to Washington, DC, to see the cherry blossoms.  My brother was in eighth grade, and as you can see he was Too Cool for the whole thing.  As I recall, he chose to spend much of the trip in a comic book shop near our hotel while the rest of us visited the Smithsonian and the various memorials.  We both had Members Only jackets, and I think you can see which one of us really knew how to WEAR a Members Only jacket.  As one person said when they saw this photo, "Craig looks like a rock star, and Meredith looks like the biggest freak in the world."

I'm not sure what else is going on with my outfit here, but the best I can guess is that, between my getting dressed that morning and this photo being taken, my limbs spontaneously grew about six inches.  Also, those are fluorescent pink socks I'm wearing, and I can tell you that I had on white cleats with them.  I had stopped playing soccer a couple of years before, but for some reason I HAD to have cleats instead of sneakers.  Those glasses were about ten sizes too small for my face, even as they eclipsed half of my head.  Oh, and I did have hair; it was just pulled back in a ponytail, which I apparently did not realize made me look like a boy. 

When I tell people that I was really awkward and not tremendously attractive or popular as a kid, they don't seem to grasp the magnitude of gawkiness that was really at play here (not that I'm a beauty queen now, but you know what I mean).  If given the opportunity, I show them this photo, and the usual reaction is for the person to clutch it to their chest for a moment and say, "OH.  Oh, gosh."  At least one friend of mine cried when she saw it.  Then they really understand where I'm coming from.  And now you can, too. 

Comments

[Swistle]

I got a gift certificate for airplane travel so I can go see my niece! And I got lots and lots of postcards. And an under-cabinet radio/CD. And a picture of owls.

[Julie]

The Pioneer Woman & Farm Chicks are now sitting on my shelves. Lots of good cooking going to be happening in this house.

The pictures are a riot. I have a lot of awkward looking pictures myself. Doesn't help I had to be born during an era where the clothes were hideous!!

[Emily]

I got a glider for the nursery, a Wii fit, a new coat (technically a birthday gift), a gift card for a hair cut that is long overdue, a new purse, some sorely needed maternity sweaters, and a few other random things.

[amandam]

The best gift I got was a book of 60s film posters; I also got a new stockpot and lots of cooking utensils and some good ol' fashioned $$.

Your childhood pictures are so cute; you look like you were a really sweet kid. To h*ll with those who skipped your birthday - jerks!

[Ris]

I have read every single thing Bill Bryson has written and can attest that absolutely all of it is brilliant. I'd read anything that man wrote. I got new clothes, a new Coach purse (fancy!), lots and lots of warm socks, spanx (so sexy), and books and giftcards.

[Jennifer]

I received an iPod Touch (loving it, and yes, very late in joining the party) and the PW's cookbook. I also received the Apartment Therapy home cure book and another decorating-your-apartment book because I am moving to Asia in a couple of months and will have to start from scratch decorating the place I will live in for three years! And some dark chocolate. :)

[Elizabeth]

My husband also excels in the gift giving department. I received a Brighton necklace and earrings, two books I'd been wanting, two old moveis that I loved as a kid (The Secret of My Success and Gross Anatomy), a hot chocolate maker, Bon Jovi's new CD and some wonderful new slippers.

I got him um, some t-shirts and a Monopoly game and some Legos. People think I'm shopping for my son when I'm buying him gifts.

I wanted to let you know that your slowcooker cookbook started as a blog - she has even more recipies on there plus lots of helpful hints and tip in the comment sections of each recipie.

I want to use my slowcooker but I am afraid to - please let us know how it works out!

[Terri]

You neglected to mention the sparkly earrings when we talked. If yours are bigger than Sharon's and mine, they will need to be returned ;0 We were married over 35 years before receiving ours......

[Alyce]

This was the first year in a long time when I was excited about Christmas. And a whole day has gone by and I'm still excited.

I don't know what confluence of events conspired to make it so, but there it is.

I received (& gave) awesome gifts!
-a new iPhone (from Dad, who also got the new iPhone for my hubby and for himself when he realized how cool it is)
-a netbook (the mini laptop thingamabobs; I explain because no one in my family knew what one was)
-a Timbuk2 sleeve for said netbook
-the latest Harry Potter movie
-Harry Potter wand & stickers (it was a stocking stuffer and, yes, I have been trying to get things to fly around for days)
-Seasons 2 & 3 of Arrested Dev't
-iTunes gift card
-Starbucks gift card

JB rec'd
-Star Trek stuff (book of artwork, calendar, shirt)
-JRR Tolkien stuff (couple of books of artwork, set of books, book with Christmas stories)
-Jaime Hernandez book of Hopey artwork (from the Love & Rockets comic books)
-Up movie
-Blu-Ray player

[Lawyerish]

Oooh, this is so fun! It sounds like everyone had a really nice Christmas. Hooray for stuff!

[Carolyn J.]

Hooray, the Duckling becomes a Swan!

I got a ton of books, which is what I also gave. My family consists of a librarian, two former book wholesaler reps and a reporter, so we are very pleased.

[willikat]

dude, an immersion blender is the best gadget ever if you love to make soups.
i have a great sweet potato-curry-ginger soup that i would not make without it.

[EA]

I have a slanket too!! I bought one for my mother this year for Christmas... they so RULE over the snuggies!! You will LOVE it!
As for me... a new Kitchen Aid Mixer - top o' the line! and I bought myself a Flat Screen tv... love it all! But being with my 2 aging Grandmothers (who have no idea who I am) took the cake! Merry Christmas Mer!

[Becky]

Fun! I love this kind of stuff. I gave an immersion blender and the PW Cookbook this year, and both gifts were hits.
I am still overwhelmed at the haul I made...a sewing machine, the newest Stephen King book, some slippers, a hair dryer, gift certificates to Barnes & Noble and Cold Stone Creamery, and Ryan and I got the camcorder we wanted! It was definitely a great Christmas.

[Amy K]

I got a Slanket (purple) too! And I totally identify with your awkward elementary school photos, because in fourth grade I wore giant glasses with pink hexagonal lenses. The right lens had my initials on it in adhesive gold script. I think I destroyed all of the photographic evidence of this at some point during adolescence, though.

[H]

I got a dvd recorder so we can put our family videos on dvd's.

I've been following the slow cooking blog from which the cookbook was derived and have been using her recipes for about 18 months or so. There are some delicious dishes in there! We love Sweet & Spicy Salmon (3/20/08), Black Bean Soup (10/20/08 - we use pureed carrots as the secret veggie and add some spices as we like it extra spicy), and Pasta e Fagioli (10/31/08). The dates are the days she posted them on the blog. There are lots of other great ones too. Enjoy!

Your Christmas sounds lovely!

[H]

I'm sorry, the Black Bean Soup we love is the 2/11/08 recipe (the plain one, no pumpkin or chicken.) We haven't tried the other ones, although I'm sure they are delicious too!

[Carolyn]

Oh M...those pictures and the accompanying stories are fantastic. The birthday party makes me laugh but also hurt inside (in an "I remember how that felt" kind of way) and the cherry blossom pic is so classic.

I also agree that the George C. Scott is the only Christmas Carol worth watching! It's perfect.

I got a Nike+ kit, a long cardigan from Anthropologie that I've been coveting, Rosebud salve (in a tube! for travel!) and a couple of basic turtlenecks from J.Crew. It was a great Christmas.

[Jessica J. M.]

Two things: 1. Confession: When I saw the sticker pic on FB I kept thinking, "Where was I? Did I get invited? Did I not make the cut? Did Meredith even LIKE me At All?" and then when I read your post, I thought, "Oh crap, I was probably one of those b!tches who didn't show up." Although, I'm scared to learn the truth, I've no doubt that you remember, so level with me, please, be gentle. 2. I remember playing with that Awesome doll house, and if I didn't say it then, Thank you for having me over to your house and I'm sorry I was such a brat. Even if I didn't show it, I always looked up to you because you were sooo smart and excelled at everything you tried as far as I could tell--effortlessly, like French. I know you'll make a tremendous (did I spell that right?) mother. But really, you've got to stop worrying so much! God wired us with all this Instinct for mothering. Foster happy chi for the baby swan. :D

[Jen W.]

I love hearing what other people got for Christmas too! I got an iTouch (apps! AAAAPPPSS!) and tons of cool stocking stuffers, like an avocado slicer, chip clips (you can never have enough), and great Aveda travel size toiletries. Among other things.

[nonsoccermom]

No one huge gift this year, but I got lots of iTunes gift cards, wine, a gift card to the local wine shop, and various other odds and ends, including new perfume (Kat von D's Sinner, which I LOVE). Also, an excellent docking station for my iPod.

And I got a stoneware roasting...thing? Container? Dish? I think you cook food in it. My mother apparently thinks I need to be more domestic.

Those pictures are awesome. I'm so glad I wasn't the only one totally awk as a kid. I need to find some old photos of myself and scan them. They totally trump yours, I promise.

[glenna]

sounds like a nice haul there! Love the old pictures, but it made me so sad about your bday party.