Friday Favorites

Today's topic: Kim's Favorite and Not-So-Favorite Gifts

I've gotten lots of gifts in my lifetime. Some big, some small. Some from the Dollar Tree and some from not the Dollar Tree. I admit. When asked, my mind shuts down and I can't, for the life of me, remember a favorite gift I have received. Except for when I turned 16 and my parents got me a brand new Mercedes. Hahahaha! My three readers are saying, 'yeah, kim. Lay off the MTV.' I think my favorite gift has been my Nikon D40 that my hubby Matt gave me for our anniversary last year. It was our 10th anniversary, and my camera at the time had just broken. Yes, I might have thrown in that he was going to be gone during said anniversary. No need to feel obligated to make up for it or anything. :) We purchased it together,and we've been taking happily-ever-after pictures since then.

My not-so-favorite gift. That's an easy one. I was a first grade teacher before I had Mack and E. It seemed that some years the gifts I received from the students went along with some unspoken teacher-gift theme. One year it was bath products. (I literally had enough bath gel and lotion to last me one whole year. No joke!) Another year it was candles. Then there was the year of the Dollar Tree. Don't get me wrong! I LOVE the DT. I spend alot of time roaming the aisles of the Dollar. Lots of good finds are hiding amongst the tree-scented car deodorizers and Little Debbie Cakes. But there are some items that should be super-glued to the shelves,
never to be removed. Like my not-so-favorite gift I like to lovingly call "Babies on a Couch". Listen, I remember my student giving it to me. He was so excited for me to open it, so I opened it before anything else. Needless to say, I was stunned. Speechless. "Wow. Thanks!" I feigned excitement. I know he went to the DT with his mom and he handpicked this gem out just for me. I get that. It was the thought that counted.

Shall I describe the "Babies on a Couch" masterpiece? Of course, I'd love to. This statue stood about 5 inches tall and was about 7 inches long. Made of resin. It was a couch with about 5 babies sitting on it. They were all crying. Except for the one token black baby. But this wasn't a dark skinned African American baby. He was literally black, and he had red lips. There you have it! Should I have "accidentally" forgotten it in the parking lot or dropped it "by accident" and then run it over with my Saturn? Maybe. But I decided to do something better, more productive. I gave it as a White Elephant gift. I'll have you know that it was a hot item. (Well, maybe not as hot as the 'It's My Potty' toilet seat cover, but it did give everyone a great laugh.)

Last item on the agenda. A gift that I really want this year for Christmas. It isn't something that I think I will necessarily get, but...I would love to see my BFF LeeAnn! We haven't seen each other in over a year, and now that I'm working my schedule is that much tighter. I wouldn't need to be gone long. Just enough time to catch up and see her familia. If that doesn't work, I'll be happy with a new pair of sunglasses.