Happy congrats to Kate and her fiance!

2009 has been a good and stressful year. With budget cuts and crises, we've been blessed to both keep our jobs at our current schools in our current positions. Here's to hoping that 2010 will be equally gentle with us.

We've watched Noah and Grace both grow and change and it's amazing how preoccupying such little critters can be. The bulk of life has been wrapped up in them, for better or worse.

My family has dealt with another open heart surgery scare and my sister getting a liver transplant. My mom has been a stalwart through it all.

I hope 2010 can be a year of quiet gains as opposed to fits and starts and I believe this may be the year that Grace finally comes home.

Aims, delivery tracking reports your Sekrit Santa gift is being delivered today!!

WOOOHOO!! Happy Epiphany to me!!

(I am still working on yours. You will have it before V-Day. Promise.)

I admit I read your post and thought, "yay, it'll be here before 'vagina day'!!"

I was behind, because I was out of town for a week and a half.

Nicole, I'm so glad you liked your gift!

I also got a card from the North Pole, assuring me that my gift would be on its way after Christmas as requested, so now I'm eagerly checking the mail every day for that!

Holy crap, I got a package from ISRAEL! This is my most-traveled Christmas gift ever! It has all these cool postmarks and stickers and stuff in Hebrew everywhere.

Now let's get it open...

Chocolate! From Israel!

More chocolate! Chocolate by the Bald Man. I'm going to pretend it's from Aang. Wait, is this autographed? Oh, the other one is too. I guess that's part of the bald man's thing.

Ooh, a book I've never heard of: Someone to Run With, by David Grossman. Apparently it is time for Americans to fall in love with this story of a lost dog and the discovery of first love on the streets of Jerusalem. Cool! I've never read anything set in Jerusalem before.

Eee!! Both Global Frequency trades! Did you sneak a peek at my Amazon Wishlist? My interest in these books was recently renewed when I heard they were trying to do another pilot.

This is such a fantastic set of gifts, Shir! Thank you so much!

Oh!! There is a letter! I missed this. Lemme read. Aw, I was excited that I was your giftee as well, Shir, since you are also someone I know, like, and have talked with several times.

Huh. I assumed I had Shir.

I feel bad for asking, but should I be worried about not getting anything yet?

Holy crap, I got a package from ISRAEL!

Whew! I'm relieved. I started to get worried. Also, fun trivia fact: the letter was written during my Intro. to Quantitative Research Methods class.

Did you sneak a peek at my Amazon Wishlist?

I might have done some things with it, why yes.

I'm really, really glad you got your gift and liked it, P-C. I had hellish and hectic 48 hours and it's the first time I have more than 5 minutes to sit next to the computer while not-studying, and reading your post made my day. Tell me what you think of the chocolate, and the books!

Huh. I assumed I had Shir.

Heh. Was it something I said?

should I be worried about not getting anything yet?

I didn't get mine either, but I'm giving it at least until the end of the month before popping here and ask that. I mean, my gift took a long while to get there, so I thought giving it at least a month extra.

You know, reading the "holy shit, I got a package from ISRAEL!" is one of the best things in this board's secret santa, for me, and one of the best causes to participate in it. I like surprising people like that.

Was it something I said?

Well, at this point I was assuming it was coming from abroad, and I thought you had said something about yours taking awhile.

No worries, I just didn't know when we got into slacker territory.

When I'm sending it Christmas eve, I know it won't be there until the New Year. Hence my warning. Usually I try to mail it 12-14 days before Christmas so it'll get there (the U.S.) in time.