Santa was awesome this year

For I received-

o The long-coveted book The Apple Trees at Olema by Robert Hass
o A subscription to Saveur
o Pastry brushes
o A batik scarf
o A beautiful amethyst quartz, a 100-year-old prickly wooden raccoon (previously owned by Granny Garlick, who, incidentally, dated JFK and then voted for the other candidate) a natural face mask, a single lotus candle, hazelnut chocolate & a few sketches
o Tons of socks
o Yo-Yo Ma & Tchaikovsky CDs
o Dustin the kitten
o Good grades
o A car
o Fruit by Alice Waters & Co.
o And other awesome things, like

The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Frères & Co a 752-page behemoth from my dad, who spent Christmas day frantically flipping through the epilogue, before slamming the book shut and announcing "I'm done!" and bequeathing it to me with a flourish and the instruction that he wanted me to "finish it over winter break" so I could give him a book report when I got back to California. It's apparently a "must-read" for young people who wish to pursue MBAs. (Now where exactly did he get that idea?)

Now, if I could only win the lottery for something like "Food Network Caters Your Wedding."

:)