The Haul

Do my parents know me or what?

I spent a great evening with my parents, Kevin, Sarah and their families last night. It sucks that Jason is still in California, but that's life. I arrived at the family estate just before 6 pm, and we all had a big dinner, with a choice of roast beef, turkey, various vegetables & salad, a few types of bread, and gravy for both meats. I had turkey, stuffing, gravy and buttered Italian bread. Coffee and a few cookies for dessert, and then it was gift time!

The kids all loved what I got them, and the adults were appreciative of the "Dinner with KJ" coupons. I received the following:

• J & Stacie - A gift card (gc) from Target that came with a small Lego set (the Target dog).
• Sarah & Jon - $25 for JC Penney (winter hat & scarf here I come).
• Kevin & Holly - Two framed vintage menu parts from the Union Oyster House, from 1945. He's had them hanging in his house for years, and I've long admired them. Kevin was going to make me a set, but figured I should have them now, and he could replace them for himself at his leisure. Very cool. Plus they gave me current school photos of the three kids :)
• Dad & Ma - Wow, where do I begin? They still bestow gifts upon us at Christmas as if we four were all still little kids. I received $25 gc's from Barnes & Noble, Michael's and Mobil/Exxon, plus a $40 gc from my local comic shop, That's Entertainment. Also, they got me the first "Flight" compilation, the hardcover graphic novelization of Stephen King's "The Gunslinger Born", and "Starbucked" by Taylor Clark. Ma got me a 6-pack of tube socks (over the calf, of course!), and a 3-pack of black dress socks. I have the "Mad Men" Season 4 dvd collection coming in March (it had to be pre-ordered), and I received the SNL "Saturday TV Funhouse" dvd as a 'placeholder' (funny, Ma!). I usually get some kind of coffee for Christmas, and this year was no different. I got a 2-pound bag of Starbuck's House Blend (whole bean), and a humongous 5-pound bag of Sumatra Mandheling beans from Coffee Bean Direct - SWEET! Plus I received replacement blades for my Norelco razor, and a big jar of M&M's. What can I say besides 'thank you', except 'my parents rock'!