MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The things I've been blessed to receive this Christmas...so far :)
(in order received/opened, as near as I can recall)

A reversible apron that was SO cute made by Laura

A set of cute measuring spoons attached to the apron gift :)

Some yummy-smelling "Scentsy" wax from Jen :)

A plate of the yummiest Cinnamon rolls EVER! (Thanks Bren!)

An adorable hand-carved wooden santa ornament (Again, thanks Brenda!)

Gift bag of fruit and peanuts from 2nd ward (I believe I am offically a single old woman now)

Plate of yummies from my Home Teachers

A bag of "Grandma's Carmels" from Amy (YUM!)

A "Pot Mit" that is fuzzy and thick and lined with neoprene on the working side! Yeah Fabianos!

A set of 2 kitchen towels, dark tan, with a decorate trim on the top and bottom edges that at first glance i thought "Oh, they even match my apron, cool" and then I realized that they EXACTLY matched my apron... Laura had added the cute trim herself with her fancy-stitching sewing machine! Even more awesome! (And I was starting to sense a theme)

A DIGITAL KITCHEN SCALE-BLUE!!! I actually cheered out loud when I realized that it really was what the box said it was :D SCORE!

Decided to change things up then and open the package from Mom and Poppa Bill:
Sweet card with a nice chunk of change inside, and a BEAUTIFUL calendar called "Women of the Old Testament" Illustrated by Elspeth Young. I LOVE her work!!! I will admit, I cried.

Back to the Fabulous Fabiano Adventures... A box of Oreos from Costco?? The box didn't look like it had been opened, but it seemed a bit light. Nope, it was NOT Oreos, it was a set of 6 white "Barmops" with colored stripes at the ends! NICE!

Next box, Fiber One bars from Costco. Really this time :) I guess I really am an old woman now that I would find this to be a great gift! I actually quite like them, they give a bit of a chocolate fix, and I can feel like I'm being "healthy," well, at least more healthy than eating a Snickers!

And for the Big Finish of the Laura Love, the biggest box... Filled with packing peanuts! *LOL* More wrapped gifts inside... 2 huge thick BEAUTIFUL bath sheets, a bright white and a DARK blue!

Christmas Arrived!!!

When I got back this afternoon from helping Aunt Barbara with some more online shopping for her kids and grandkids, there was a HUGE box by my front door!!! WHOOOT! So I hauled it inside, cranked up some Christmas music, and dove in! I figured that after seeing the picture of wrapped gifts Laura sent earlier it would be safe to open the shipping box. Well, the first thing I saw peeking through the packing peanuts was bits of bow, and an unwrapped set of measuring spoons! My first thought was "Oh crap! I wasn't supposed to open this yet!" But then the bits of bows registered, and I then saw that the spoons were adorably attached to a gift that said "Merry Christmas! Open this gift upon arrival. Save the rest for Christmas Day :) " Phew, what a relief! So then I noticed a Crickit cut ornament with writing on it... it was a precious note from my oldest Niece. Next I found one from my second oldest niece! (Oddly enough, both these native Arizonians mentioned it being FREEZING up here!) By this time, I am all misty! I find several other adorable cut-outs, with notes from everyone in my oldest sister's family except for their 3 youngest children, who are just too young so far :) I am thinking that I need to make a poster or something to put all the cuteness on! So then I started digging out all the rest of the gifts from the cascades of peanuts (which were JUST what I needed to hurry and get Amy's packaged packed and mailed by tomorrow!) and they are beautiful!!! So after arranging them to look cute in front of my bookcase that has a string of lights on it so I could take pictures, it was FINALLY time to get to that gift I got to open upon arrival!

After carefully opening this pre-Christmas gift, there is a roll of material, but it just didn't look like pajamas or anything, which is usually the only open-before-Christmas-morning gifts I've ever gotten. Well, tucked inside the front edge is another card with a quote at the top: The art of wearing an apron is to not only protect your clothing, but to look good while doing so! - Unknown and then a note from my oldest sister. It was great! One side has very festive holiday ornaments and the other has an awesome print full of celtic knotwork circles. VERY awesome!!! Who knows, it may just be the inspiration/motivation I need to make cookies to take out to others this year :)

THANK YOU FABIANOS for making this an awesome Christmas already!!! I am very excited for Christmas morning to dive into the next group of beautifully wrapped gifts!!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!!!

(pictures will be posted after I get them downloaded)