I got:

A very happy child (my favorite gift)
Vodka
Knives
The March of Penguins DVD
misc. jewlery
a new boyfriend



Life is good at the Patterson compound. We're about to watch Land of the Dead. Nothing like Zombies on X-mas.

What's up with y'all?

I dunno yet, we're still waiting for the kids to get their lazy arses out of bed!

So far while all the gifts we got from my family are great..the best gift is watching Paige with her new toys.

And getting unexpected little things from friends in the mail is a special bonus too. Thanks Keith!

oooh! You must have been VERY good this year! is it time to resurrect the kissing thread? oh, wait...resurrection...that's a whole other holiday. my bad.

i don't know yet either. we have to wait for my sister and nephew to get into town.

oh, actually, i did get a turquoise, mostly cotton (2% spandex) jacket with bling for buttons. i'm loving it, and i'm wearing it right now. it was from me.

Oh, I have been. I've been working on making myself the right bait.



Oh, nice! I bet you look marvelous, too. Have B take a picture so we can all share in the joy.

I got a new wallet, a beautiful cardigan sweater, the new Patricia Cornwell novel, 2 Barnes & Noble gift cards and a Best Buy gift card.

Karen got an alpaca sweater and scarf, the new books by Jack Higgins and Frank McCourt, perfume, a Martha Stewart holiday music collection, a red & white wool Santa hat, and the first two seasons of Dallas on DVD.

The kids' highlights:

Steve got an off-peak season's pass to Camelback ski resort.

Chris got a portable DVD player.

Kerry got a iPod Shuffle with various fashionable accessories.

Glad to hear Paige is enjoying her toys -- I miss the days when the kids used to get us out of bed!

Yeah wow...I got a brand new chess file and some other 'intimate' goodies from my g/f!!!!
XXXX Mony!!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!!!!!

Did Santa bring him?

Hee.

Abby got Hi Ho Cherry-O, a Disney Bingo game, a Dan Zanes DVD, clothing, candy, and a whole bunch of other stuff.

I, too, got "intimate" adult-like gifts from Lizzie Claus, along with a Shiatsu session, clothing, etc.

Life is good.

We celebrate on XMas Eve. This year it was just dad, me, my sis, bro-in-law, niece and nephew, but a good time was had by all. Stockings wih silly stuff before dinner, then XMas roast and all the trimmings (dad did the cooking this year, yum!), presents and then game time. I always get the kids (in college now) a new game - this year it was Buzz Word. We all played, and it was war in the Cunningham house! Girlz rule!!!

Anyway here's highlights of my XMas loot:

Books - a photography guidebook, and The Five People You Meet In Heaven. A HUGE photograph album. March of the Penguins DVD, cash.

Oh, and "To: Me, From: Me" a Shark steam cleaner and Cyndi Lauper's Feels Like Christmas CD.

A good evening spent with loved ones.

Cher

we're apart for Christmas, but my bro took one.


it's a little hard to capture the bling for buttons, but you'll just have to trust me. it's got a nice blingy touch.

i so need to see March of the Penguins! *jealous*

Very nice! And yes, you do need to see MotP. The whole family watched it together this morning. It is amazing, just like they say. I wish I could have seen it on the bid screen.

Nice, Janelle.

I got...

a digital camera(5.2 mega pixel/3.2 optical zoom)
a dvd/vcr combo(with ~8 dvds!)
vicki secrets perfume/lotion stuff
more perfume
lots of candles
POWER DRILL!
a martini maker kit and some liquour(bro's gfriend)
a scarf from my sister
various little things
. . .

it was a year for big stuff, i guess. i feel grown up b/c this is the first year i didn't get all clothes for Xmas.

Happy Christmas.

Brand? I can't wait til you start hosting (Flickr and Photobucket are both great places - and free) and posting.

Cher

It's a FujiFilm finepix. I'm happy with it so far!

Thanks for the tip... I have Photobuket already)

"I didn't get nuthin.' I had to pay $50 and pick up the garbage."
--Arlo Guthrie

umm, didn't zayne and the girls already give you one of those earlier this year?

• jeans
• two hoodies
• a backpack
• cashews and almonds
• body wash(?)
• Edward Scissorhands DVD (will be a trade-in)
• two reasonably-priced online gifts of my choice
• replacement earbuds
• a letter
• a crapload of gelpens (trade-in?)
• almond butter

And I got to see my cat. He makes me happy.

ok, here's my bounty...
-bruce springsteen-born to run/30th anniversary edition (the live dvd show is incredible)
-a visa giftcard from mom & dad, which i bought; johnny cash-live from austin, tex (dvd) | bob dylan-no direction home (dvd & cd) | the allman bros-live @ american university 12.12.70
-couple of shirts and sweaters.
-a chair for my living room
-the beautiful, framed picture of callie and zach (below)

To all those who got power drills: Black & Deckers are always handy, hehheeee!!!!

To all those who got wallets: and the $$$$$$$$$$ ?!

Cheers to all!!!


Robert

I got:


-- a web site to host my own photos ( http://www.jeannesphotos.com ) -- Content coming soon, I hope.

-- a watch I call "the Karin Jr," because it has a pretty large dial and a sort-of-wide leather band, but it's nowhere near the size of Karin's

-- a reversable polarfleece vest

-- two tickets to The Egypt exhibit currently on display at the Dayton Art Institute, which have to be used by Jan. 3rd. (It's good to be the sister of the DAI's web site designer. )

-- some Flintstones jello molds

-- a set of 6 cd/dvd holder books that each hold 20 discs

-- a nice piece of framed artwork

-- a bunch of updated photos of friends' families

-- a couple of toys regifted to me from my niece who decided to give me gifts for the first time this year, even though her parents don't. She's almost 8, and it's so delightful to see her wanting to give gifts as well as receive them. (And does she love to receive them!)

-- a 5 x 7 copy of my mom & dad's wedding picture sent in a Christmas card from my grandma's cousin. She said she was looking for another picture, ran across this one and thought my brothers and I should have it.

-- the incredible weekend I spent last week with OTR and apples (to me from me)

-- realizing how much I've been blessed in this life.

yippee doo dah day. many people have been very generous and loving.

-VERY nice hiking boots
-trekking poles
-camel/drink pouch
-wool socks
-nice tights
-good chocolate
-an evelope template maker thingy (i make my own cards often and have wanted to do a better job with envelopes)
-a book on hiking in north georgia
-a glen gould cd
-barnes and noble gift card
-a greeting card/holiday organizer
-new flashlight
-multi-tool (leatherman)
-re-breakable practice board (for hapkido)
-mat shoes from korea-yowzah! (for hapkido)

-fleece p.j.s
-shawshank on DVD (the special edition)
-an orange waste basket
-an olive garden gift certificate (that's where my brother works)
-this holiday jones soda 5 pack. it had flavors like brussel sprouts, pumpkin pie, turkey and gravy, herb season stuffing and cranberry sauce. it's a complete holiday dinner! it's just in soda form. it came with a spork, a moist towelette and a list of wines to compliment the sodas.
-teal, velour hoodie
-some sort of red lip candies
-some lancome cosmetics
-a platter
-3 jigsaw puzzles...zayne, i totally thought of you! wish you were here to put them together with me.
-a few other random things

an mp3 player.
a few dvds
a cute, stuffed monkey,
a couple starbucks cards
a ben folds cd
a two pack of flashlights which operate without batteries.
two seperate battery chargers (from seperate people).

hoorah for christmas goodies!! i got long johns that rock, and victoria's secret flannel pajammies from my mom (thanks to roger for finding them for me!!) and some candles and a great camera bag and candy and slippers and a remote control car starter from ray and i bought myself 2 pairs of jeans cuz i need them, and a bunch of cool little things.

I got a bunch of random stuff, but the two big goodies were

-- 20-bottle wine cooler (as in the appliance, not as in Seagrams)
I've never even owned my own cooler, but now I can buy all those expensive bottles that need 4 or 5 or more years of laying down before enjoying. It's wine geek heaven at the Alford pad.

-- new REALLY nice knife set and knife block
I cook a lot, and I've never owned my own good knives. And after the last roomie who owned good knives moved out, I've been making do with a scant assortment. Thank goodness for little sisters who listen to hints

I got a new sweater and some sweet new corduroys as well. I get that pretty much every x-mas. But it's cool--I always wear them. My roommate got me an awesome cookbook called "The Wine Lover's Cookbook." It sounded cheesy at first, but it's actually really well done. My best friend got me a new cutting board (which was desperately needed, so I loved it) and a new set of Burgundy balloons (a style of wine glass). Oh, and my sister also got me this really nice (and way too expensive...I'm spoiled) bottle of infused pine nut oil.

I guess the best thing about this year was that everything was practical. Everyone pretty much stuck to the fact that I like wine and like to cook and bought gifts with that in mind. Merry x-mas to me

Materially, I love the Live 8 DVD I received. But the best Christmas present I have ever gotten was getting my family all home under one roof for the week. Best.... ever.

is it too late to get a nod for cutest orchard couple '05 ? the best kept secret of the orchard has been revealed. hahha... seriously, i pick out her victoria's secret sleepwear then her mom buys it for her ? that's so wrong on so many levels.

i got a couple DVDs, a cool little deskclock/calender thingamabob, electric blanket, gift certificate to my fave hibachi restaurant, and a guitar.

Hey luv,
We'll be alearnin' together!.....so fun.
We might start a thread for guitar uber-newbies so we can share our triumphs and stumbling blocks and glean tips from the applemasters, eh?

Excited....Txo

yay for the guitar, roger! what kind did you get?

Right now I'm playin' with my new Ipod Photo that my friends totally surprised me with! Its really all I got besides a sweater from my mom and some cute stuff from the kids. I plan on spending the rest of the day uploading stuff to it. Wheee!

:::grabbing coat and running out the door to janelle's:::

i'll bring coffee,
zayne

The greatest gift was all the families getting together, and watching Paige and her mountain of goodies.

Im very grateful for all the wonderful things I recieved, like:

All of my Greek stuff, which consisted of a sport scarf, sweatshirt and sea salt from Greece. Oh yeah and Paige and I now have matching Greek tee's

the new INXS cd

Gift cards

perfume

body lotions

cash

it was a spontaneous to:me/from:me gift. nothing fancy, just a cheapo Fender acoustic. should be a nice little starter guitar though. and trudes, uber-newbie is an understatment. friday was the first time i've ever touched a guitar. any tips the professionals can throw out would be greatly appreciated. : )

I got a beaded bracelet my 9-year old sis made for me, a 3-pack of philosophy products (eggnog, hot chocolate, and apple cider bath gel), tiramisu-scented lip balm, tiramisu-scented cologne, the Three Colors trilogy on dvd, the Casablanca 2-disc set, and random money.

I got the flu last night.

hoorah! you won't need the coat when you get here. i think it was 70 out today.

tonight we're going to put a puzzle that my dad got. so if you hurry...

i guess santa thinks you were a bad boy this year.

peace,
zayne

Did anyone get a lump of coal?

Have you been in my bathroom?

a blue hoodie
2 1000 piece kodacolor jigsaw puzzles
squash**
grannysmith apples**
oranges**
ginger snaps
a winning scratch off lottery ticket ($7 -- put gas in my car)
a pic that i've admired at my adopted mother's house (lone black and white misty tree -- beautiful!)
a big surprise that made me jump up and down and cry.
a six pack of beer
store gift card
mixed cd

peace,
zayne


**my friends know me so well..

My new girlfriend got me a coyote skull.

She so rules.

my two best gifts:

an optical, wireless mouse
and everyday italian by giada de laurentiis

funny, they're the two things i actually asked for...

It was a low key year as far as gifts go, but it was a great family time.

Items I received are as follows:

Trip to Cincinnati for Taft (stellar)
fatbox mp3 player for the car stereo (excellent)
marble pastry board
silicone rolling pin
table linens
towels

Excellent choices being music or food related.

Merry Christmas all

today i received:

*pier one gift card

*porcupine tree - deadwing

*elbow - leaders of the free world

*a check from a friend with instructions that i can only spend it on something frivolous and not for bills
(i bought newcastle)

can't wait until a little later when i can relax and put the disk in the player.

peace,
zayne

Christina! Another love we share. I LOVE my Phatnoise hard drive for the car. You have a VAG car, no?

*edited to say that VAG is Volkswagen Audi Group

I got my signed Bruce Cockburn poster matted, framed and hung in my office which was a big suprise!

I got the John Mayer Trio CD...blues! Oh yeah!

I got a bag of starbucks coffee and a bunch of cash...guess the family was feeling sorry for me...

The best gift though was that I was allowed to make a dozen pies on Christmas eve and hand them out to friends and family. I made up a recipe for a pie I call Berry, Berry, Berry Good Pie several years ago. I only make it on special ocassions and always to give away. It's extremely fattening...made with Blackberries, Raspberries and Blueberries, tons of sugar, and butter. My dad grows Blackberries, otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to afford the expense of making 12 pies. The gift part is showing up at people's doors unexpectedly and handing them a homemade pie for Christmas and watching their eyes light up! Pie seems to make people happy. Have you ever noticed that? I mean, have you ever seen anyone angry while eating pie? Or sad? Maybe sad when it's gone, but you just can't eat pie and be anything but happy!

Skoegahom...

Two of my top three CDs for the year! Woohoo! Maktub being number three or was it Thirteen Senses?

* some batteries (AA)

* got to watch my son open his Legos and go nuts!

* watched my 8 month old daugher spend at least an hour crawling on top of a box. She loved it. Sheesh. It's the simple things.

* gift cards: borders, walmart, best buy, and jamba juice (mmmm...juice)

* two sweet compilation cds from my Orchard namesake, SoCal Steve

* I got myself some replacement filters for my musician's earplugs (15db)

* a copy of Katamari Damacy for PSII. If you know what I'm talking about...you have the same sickness. Call me.

I plan to use some of these gift cards to hook myself up with some of the Orchard Top 50 CDs of the year...

it certainly works for jimmy neutron's dad. he loves pie.

highlights from my christmas:

dustin coming to pittsburgh and meeting my family and friends
my dad ripped up the $600+ check i gave him to pay for my car insurance and wrapped it up in a box along with a sizeable check of his own made out to me

i got some other stuff -- material stuff -- but those were the best things for me.