My Favorite Past Christmas Gifts

If you were looking at getting me something for Christmas, here's a list of things not to get me because I already have them but I love them.

First off, one from Justin. When we were first dating, he came out to Utah to visit me for the Holiday's. He totally surprised me with a ring! No not an engagement ring (that happened a year or so later in Vegas, totally different story). But a beautiful white gold band with a square tanzinite stone with 2 diamonds on each side. I was shocked and wasn't expecting it at all. The ring was great but I loved the surprise element.

I'd show you a picture of it but I'm not. You're just gonna have to trust me on this.

Next would be a stereo system I got in 8th grade. For years I was listening to my Paula Abdul cassette tapes in this little tape player that sucked. It SUCKED! So I'm sure I annoyed my parents to death begging for a stereo and with something called a CD player. So I got it and I rocked out to P.D. only a few more times because then I got a Reba CD (shut up, I'm from Texas).

But the country didn't last when I moved into 9th grade (High School). And tapes didn't last either. But that stereo did and I still have it. It keeps Justin occupied in the garage while he's changing my oil.



Next would be a sandwich maker from my granny. Justin and I both agreed for a long time that it was by far one of the best gifts we'd gotten. Don't be offended. Everyone has received a gift that they love, hate or use a lot. And we use the granny sandwich maker a lot. What makes it great is we love grilled cheese sandwiches. It even cuts it diagonally for you. But you don't have to stop with grilled cheeses. We sometimes add meat to our cheese sandwiches. One time I used it to make pancakes! No one said pancakes had to be flat and round. They were great. Multi-uses = granny sandwich maker.



Last would be a magazine subscription. Actually I've had a few. I got Seventeen when I was 13 or something like that. Later when I'd outgrown it (at 17, who would have thought), I wanted Cosmo, but my mom said it was porn so I never got it. My mother-in-law got me Shape one year but I didn't renew it because it was the same every issue. "Loose 80% of your body fat in 3 weeks with our easy shape up plan!" Yeah right, you promised that last month. Actually it did have great articles on nutrition which I liked. My minor is nutrition, so put down that bowl of ice cream and switch it out for frozen yogurt.

I did eventually get a Cosmo subscription from Justin. I look at it once and I'm done. He likes to read it in depth so maybe it was a good buy. But my favorite subscription is Consumer Reports. We got it as a gift for Christmas a few years ago and we just keep renewing it. I just love it! Coffee makers, digital cameras, wine, laundry detergent, bottled water....the reporting never ends! And I love to read the last page (if you get the magazine, you know what I'm talking about). They publish all the mistakes done in ads all across America.

My favorite was a photo of an elderly man living his life, looking happy. It was for a retirement home. Then another ad used the same photo of the man, but this time it was for a funeral home. I guess he died! Good times. Consumer Reports has everything you want in a magazine. Information, humor, photos and ads. You can't go wrong with it. I highly suggest you invest in it.



So there you have it. Don't get me any of these. Well unless you want to renew my subscription to Consumer Reports again. Don't worry about Cosmo, I already did it for myself. And despite what you see on that cover, it's not porn Mom.