Oh god, you are all so lucky Blogger wasn't working earlier. Because I am all over the place today, and the rant I wrote got eaten. I'm taking that as a sign to post about something much nicer: the holiday surprises roundup!

Remember the Secret Santa post?


Ice Cream Mama helped me out right off the bat, fufilling three wishes on the very day I posted. She doesn't wear smelly stuff, recycles and gives to charity. Ice Cream Mama should get some bonus points, people. Plus, she was a new-to-me blogger, so I got a new friend in the bargain!


A few days later, yet another wish came true, when I found this in my inbox:

Hello, I’m the executive producer at snapfish and wanted to give you your Christmas wish. I need your first and last name and email address and I’ll add 50 print credits to your account.

Btw- I tried the candycane kisses they are AMAZING!!

Thanks for using snapfish!!!

deanna dawson
executive producer snapfish.com by hp

HOLY SNAPFISH, Batman! I could not believe it. And Deanna was true to her word ~ I soon found my Snapfish account credited 50 pictures. That I then used (plus 150 or so more) when I uploaded our Christmas photo bonanza. They certainly came in handy, and I could not have been more surprised or pleased: the fact that someone from the company took the time & did this really means a lot to me, as a consumer. It was just a plain old nice thing to do, and it much appreciated by me, I can tell you.

Also, Deanna shared with me a love for the CandyCane Kisses. I think, perhaps I may have not stated enough how much I love these Kisses. I may have explained it best in my reply to Deanna's e-mail: I really can't thank you enough! And the Candy Cane Kisses? I'm thinking about buying some bags and sticking them in the fridge, because what am I going to do when I go to the store and the guy says they don't have any because it's seasonal? For all of our safety, I think freezing some will be best.

Cross out "thinking about," and replace it with "Have asked Mum to empty the freezer & buy every single bag she sees," and you might get an inkling as to my passion for the CandyCane Kisses.

So, I guess Secret Santas really do exist, and it was a pleasant surprise to learn it!

On another front, there was the Secret Spoonies exchange that I was lucky enough to participate in over at the But You Don't Look Sick message boards. If you're not familiar with the board, it's for people with chronic (and often invisible) illnesses, and it's a place where I find a lot of comfort and support. On the boards, spoons are a symbol of good health, energy, resources, etc. (It's based on the founder of the BYDLS site, Christine's very true and still understandable Spoon Theory of what it's like, living with chronic illness.)

The Secret Spoonie Exchange was wonderful! I found an extendable spoon online, here , that I sent, along with random other goodies, to my spoonie.

And my Secret Spoonie sent me enough Texas Loot to give me a drawl. I got texas jelly beans, a texas flag, and a texas spoon.

And the cutest part was a day of the week pill container, each day filled with little candies ~ what a great idea!!! Candies as medicine: definitely my kind of person!

It was another wonderful experience, and the best part has been reading all the posts from everyone: it's a real community. It's so nice to feel like a part of something that special.


Yet another special community welcomed me this holiday season: the B-List Bloggers let me join in their Holiday Ornament Exchange. I got the lovely
Green 3, who I sent her very own Christmas Kelly, a Rubix Cube keychain, and a homemade ornament of a picture of her family, taken on their Las Vegas trip this year (which Blogger doesn't want me to show you). I read through her archives, got to add yet another name to my bloglines account.

And my B-List Blogger did an A+ job of researching me a bit, because she sent me a Christmas Kelly to add to the parade! The person who sent me the Kelly (and a very nice note!) was Jannie Funster. Thank You, so much Jannie! She was not a duplicate Kelly, and has a place of honor in the parade.

I still have one more holiday item to wrap-up, but it's going to have to wait.


(Still not talking about the flare: we do not acknowledge the flare ... except to say... Ouch.)