My Christmas Loot

It’s been a manic Christmas holiday. What with the crammed shopping (I promise to do my Christmas shopping as early as October this year!) resulting in my spending more than I ever intended to, the wrapping, looking for just the right food, wine and champagne for the various Christmas gatherings with friends and family, the spending, the spending!, the Christmas decorating that was never completed (Can you believe I didn’t put up a Christmas tree in my flat this year?! Terrible, terrible, mom, I am!), and that short trip to Singapore where thousands of pesos were spent on things necessary for the soul but certainly not healthy on the pocket and for the purchase of which things my Citibank visa card was practically maxed out (I expect I will faint when I get the bill!). And then there’s the matter of keeping a 4-year old constantly asking to open her presents before the Big Day from actually opening those presents before the Big Day. I’m absolutely exhausted!

The loot? What about the loot? WHERE'S THE LOOT?, you ask. Here are my top 10 picks of the most exciting and/or the most useful (and this includes Christmas gifts as well as my own purchases) of the season:

1. A Betseyville Betsey Johnson bag which my sister picked out for me. Really cute. Really me, I thought. She hit it this time.

2. A Lumix DMC-FX33 8.1 MP camera (with intelligent auto – the camera can actually identify as many as 9 faces on the LCD and focus on them for an all-clear shot – and wide-angle 28mm Leica lens) from Hubby. It’s small enough for the purse, too. 3. The Toy Watch I bought in Singapore. 4. A Stuart Weitzman pair of clear jelly slippers with real swarovski crystals on the straps. Broke the bank (I mean, for a pair of slippers). Also from Singapore. 5. Nail polish from The Face Shop. I never thought I’d be able to wear on my toenails polish of any color other than the red variety. But the paint job from this one’s clean and classy. Thanks, Audine. 6. Covet by SJP. Wasn’t actually sure I’d like the scent of this but just had to have it after I fell in love with … the reviews (“Lovely”, which is available in Rustan’s, wasn’t bad either – it’s probably the sweetest, most “ingenue” scent I’ve ever sampled. Mental note to get this one for days I want to feel young. Mwahaha!). Covet turned out to be quite bold. I like. It’s mature and headstrong. Courtesy of Hubby, too; loot from a Singapore late-night shopping trip. 7. This embroidered and patched bag from a sister-in-law. Dunno where she got it. Not really me, I know. But it’s pretty … Anyway, my sister’s already waiting in the wings for it. 8. A bag organizer. From another sister-in-law. Will hopefully help me mend my ways this year and keep the clutter out of the purse. At the very least, keep things organized so I don’t have to rummage through a seemingly bottomless pit or the black hole that is the invariably huge bag full of trash that needs to be sorted. 9. I don’t honestly know what this is called. A bag hanger? It’s that thingy you hang on any table that will allow you to hang your bag on it so it doesn’t get squished when you sit with it on the chair or doesn’t get dripped on while on your lap during the meal or doesn’t get stolen as it sits by its lonesome on the vacant chair beside you. I’ve always thought this to be a clever invention and always wanted one. A thank you gift from McSweetie’s Significant Other – in sweet appreciation of my efforts in buying and lugging her LV bag from Singapore. 10. “Fashion Babylon”, a novel. Haven’t finished yet. But it’s quite fun reading, so far. (Waiting their turn on the nightstand are “The Kite Runner” – quite critically acclaimed – “The Crimson Petal and the White” and a book lent to me a century ago by Audine called “Free Food for Millionaires”. I promise to get on it right away, Audine-girl … Sorry!) I appreciated all the gifts this year (including the ones I got for myself!) – the large and the small – and recycled not a one! Even the food. A top pick is that super moist chocolate cake from our Healthy Growing Baby Boy, baked by an outfit called “Jhak’s”. All the in-laws raved about the cake (but were unanimous in the opinion that Jhak should change his name -- or the spelling of it, at least). Thanks, Yoy! Made a mental note to order next year’s Christmas gifts from this chap, and perhaps offer some unsolicited advice that the branding should be as fabulous (and as classy) as the product.

When the debris finally settled (and that’s on the evening of January 1st), I took stock of the season and the year that passed and firmly decided it was a good year. I have a lot to be thankful for. Not least of which is despite all the trials and heartaches of the past year, I somehow managed to keep my integrity and my honor intact. It feels really good to be able to say that. (No regrets, my friends.) I managed, too, to somehow smooth things over on the home front – and that means my (ex-)husband and I are not openly feuding (and shouting and screaming at each other) anymore. My daughter has somehow gotten used to the sleeping arrangements (which include her dad keeping his own room in her grandmother’s house) and I was able to let go of a too-“familiar” nanny who was abusive of my kindness and generosity. On the work-front, things have been busy and then not too busy. I’ve decided this is good. This year was not as frantic or as riddled with failures as past years. The company has had the Great Success which up till now it only imagined. Most importantly, my entire family has enjoyed good health this year. And that in itself is reason to rejoice and be grateful.

Cheers!!!