What did YOU get for Christmas?

Tickets to HES in NY this May. It will be my first experience.

I though about buying my wife a new pre-amp, but I decided against it, since she doesn't really listen to much music ;-)

Atually, my wife and I passed on buying each other gifts this year, and instead each donated $500 to a no-kill animal shelter near Seattle that helped us out in finding a home for a stray dog that I found on a golf course Thanksgiving weekend. My local humane society had deemed the poor guy "un-adoptable" due to his age and general health condition, and he was scheduled to be euthanized. Because one of my dogs is aggressive around her food, we couldn't take him, and my wife searched frantically for an alternative. At the 11th hour, she found Pasado's Safe Haven in Monroe, WA, and got them to agree to take him. We fostered him for 3 days, then drove him to Pasado's. They got him the medical and dental care that he so desperately needed, and gave him a home for the rest of his days. After visiting there and seeing what they do for animals that have been abused and/or abandoned, we both felt that maybe we could sacrifice our gifts to each other for one year, and help give the gift of life to an animal that didn't have the ability to help itself.

Maybe I'll get that new pre-amp for my birthday......

Mike

Mburns92,
You are indeed a good person! That is one of the best Christmas giving stories I have heard this year. My 6 year old daughter had a Christmas/birthday party and asked her friends to NOT bring her any gifts this year, but instead bring food, toys, bedding, cleaning supplies that we could give to our local no-kill shelter. We put everything into a large box, decorated the outside with photos of the animals at the shelter from their website, put a big bow on it and took it to them. You would have thought we gave them a million dollars, they were so grateful. The best thing is, it was all my 6 year old's idea. We have a shelter dog, a shelter rabbit, a shelter cat, and a Golden Retriever pup as well. Thanks for sharing with us such a caring attitude on the part of your family.

Well, I picked up the Platinum Series Extended Edition versions of the Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. I have been really enjoying not only the extended versions of the films, but the documentaries are very well done, as well. My wife also got me a boombox, and promptly told me (before I even opened the box) that it didn't sound very good, and that I would want to return it. Well, after listening to all the boomboxes available, I ended up getting a Sony GFD-G55. While not the end all, be all, it isn't too bad, and should help to make washing cars, waxing boats, and other garage-related work much more enjoyable.

Ho ho ho!

Tom.

Along with clothes and other 'usuals', my wife and I found out that she is pregnant with our first child.

This is most definitely the best Christmas I have ever had.

Z