Stick a Fork in Me, I'm Done with Christmas Leftovers

Chandler: Stick a fork in me, I'm done.
Phoebe: Stick a fork what?
Chandler: You know, like when you're cooking a steak.
Phoebe: Oh, I don't eat meat.
Chandler: Well how do you tell when vegetables are done?
Phoebe: Well you just, you know, you eat them and you can tell.
Chandler: Okay, then eat me, I'm done.
~ Friends
Are you as stuffed as I am? It was three solid days of eating and drinking and piles of wrapping paper and whining (and wining) and more eating and piles of dirty dishes. But it was so very fun.

Yesterday evening we relaxed on the couch and watched the last two Harry Potter movies. Makes me think that maybe I didn't read that last book. So much of it was new to me. But it was such a good movie series.

Today I brought in the leftovers to work. Enough for a fourth day of feasting! Luckily, Tuesdays are my half day so I won't be here to eat any more of it.

And speaking of leftovers, the winner of the Christmas Leftovers bracelet is.....

cryssT of Here Bead Dragons!

Here is what cryssT said...

"What a nice blog about Christmas and making it have meaning. Those are beautiful bracelets that you have crafted. The red one has such deep wonderful color that I find I really like it best of the two. Anyway, hope your Christmas with family was great. ~cryssT"

cryssT, please email me your address at enjoytheday(at)tesoritrovati(dot)com and I will mail out the red LOVE bracelet.

But wait! I decided that in the true spirit of the season, I wanted to spread more JOY, so I am gifting the JOY bracelet to....

Cindi of Strings Attrached Beads and Accessories!

Cindi, please email me your address at enjoytheday(at)tesoritrovati(dot)com and I will mail out the greem JOY bracelet.

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Is there a present in your family that brings a tear to the eye each year? One year when I was in high school it was surprise tickets to Florida leaving on December 26th through New Years. Another time it was ring settings containing the diamonds from my grandmother's wedding ring, my grandma we called Bousha who died just before Christmas 1986. There were loads of tears that year.

This year it was my present to my daughter, Tiny Dancer.

Obviously, she is a dancer. She is good at it too. She often tells me that she wants to be a senior up on that stage. She also says that she wants to open a dance studio. I have told her that will take a lot of commitment and she will be giving up a lot in order to continue taking dance as much as she does now. For now she is all about that. But there could come a day when other interests take hold. So for now, if this is what she loves to do, I am all for encouraging it.

In the box with the sweatshirt from her dance studio, I added an envelope. Inside the envelope was the gift of dance performances. We have already attended an amazing performance this fall from the Azure Barton & Artists (Ms. Barton choreographed and danced with Mikhail Baryshnikov). We also saw the Afterimages performances by student choreographers at our very talented UW-Stevens Point dance and theater department. But I wanted to gift her more.

I wanted to expose her to different kinds of dance. So I bought her three performances in the coming year.

The State Ballet Theatre of Russia's production of Swan Lake to experience ballet. We will go with her favorite Aunt Mary and a friend of her choosing for dinner and the theater about an hour away (this will double as her birthday party). Ballet is not her favorite type of dance, but it is the foundation of all the dances she does. This will show a classic story told through dance with beautiful costumes and thrilling music.

The Lily Cai Chinese dance theater production to experience a world culture and unique contemporary dance. This will just be the two of us. The contemporary with a Chinese twist will be a fun way to travel the world through dance. Their use of props is fascinating and will show a different type of movement.

CATS at the Overture Center in Madison, WI (a truly remarkable place to see any performance) to experience the longest running Broadway show in history. This will be during our spring break for the entire family. (I am terribly allergic to cats, so this will be the only way to view them without sneezing for me!) Broadway theater is some of the most fun and this will be a great way to see what goes into making a contemporary musical theater performance.

Three performances with memories in the making.

There were much tears from my Tiny Dancer. I didn't expect that. She was so moved by the chance and that makes me feel even more gratified that this present hit the mark and will be appreciated (and especially since these tickets were not an inexpensive gift!). But I am glad that I hit the nail on the head with this present that will keep on giving through the first part of the year.

Your turn...
Were there any unexpected gifts that you received this year?
If you could be gifted with an experience, what would it be?
Do tell!