Socks, Sheets, and a Skillet

You know, there are several different types of gifts we get every Christmas. The standard, annual gifts that we know we are going to get because it is tradition; the gift that you didn't ask for and didn't really expect - it's usually the "sensible" one that your mom gets you because you "need" it; then there is the gift that you asked for, maybe even begged for. This Christmas, I was extremely blessed. I got gifts of all three types (and then some)!


1.) Socks. This is my "traditional" gift. Every year, in our stockings, we get socks. Ironic, right - socks in our stockings. Anyways...this year, though, I apparently hit the mother load where socks are concerned. I got socks in my stocking at home, socks in my stocking at my Grandma's house, and socks in my gift from my grandmother.

These are the socks from my mom. Sensible, white socks. Six pairs of them.

These are the socks I got in my gift from my grandma. There are six different colors and prints - yellow cheetah, purple zebra, you get the picture?

These are the socks we got in our stockings at Grandma's. Again, six different color combinations. Exciting, right?

Did you do the math? That's 18 pairs of socks! I have yet to wear all of them. I have made effort, though. We'll see how it goes.


2.) Sheets. A couple of weeks before Christmas, I got a new-to-me mattress set for my bed. It needs extra-deep sheets. This didn't cross my mind while making my Christmas list. (By the way, my mom REQUIRES a Christmas list every year. It's a non-negotiable. Mine is detailed...and loooooong. I like to give people options!) So, mom and dad got me sheets. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the sheets. I wasn't expecting them, and I giggled. Then my sister (adopted sister - Mary Tran) started giggling. Then mom joined in. I guess it's a girl thing. We were cracking up, and dad thought we had lost it. He still gets a little upset if I mention my sheets and we start laughing again. His confusion just makes us laugh harder.

Here they are! Aren't they nice? Simmons Beautyrest!

3.) A skillet...and a cookbook. I have recently decided to be a chef. Well, I decided to cook more. I'm still gonna be a teacher, with a chef side-job. Sounds good, right? Therefore, there were a lot of kitchen-related items on my loooong and detailed Christmas list. One of which was a skillet. I was very specific...I wanted a large, teflon skillet with a lid that was both oven and stove-top safe. Man, did my Nanny come through! This skillet is 13 inches across and almost too heavy to pick up!

Isn't this pretty! It's Food Network brand.

The other MAJOR thing on my list was a certain cookbook. I follow this blog called the Pioneer Woman. She has a cookbook. I wanted it badly. I begged and bugged and begged and bugged my mom for it. She kept telling me it was too expensive. I almost bought it for myself (Merry Christmas to me!), but mom got upset with me so I backed off. I went through Christmas without getting it, and I was bummed. So I was SUPER excited when I got to my Grandma's house and opened this baby up! She still isn't real sure that I really, REALLY wanted it. Her super-excited gauge must be off this week, cause I was SUPER EXCITED!!

So, here it is. The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Back to that skillet, still don't believe how big it is? The book fits inside it!

This isn't everything I got for Christmas. My sister and my aunt got me some AMAZING Texas Longhorns stuff. Mary, gave me two handmade UT blankets, one lap-size and one that fits my bed. My aunt made me a bag and a super-cool scarf. My brother got me a bakeware set. (He just likes me to cook for him!)

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! Here's to a Happy New Year!