Unabashed holiday loot post!

Fabulous cards from: dagger_garnet (plus a very thoughtful B&N giftcard), bellybalt, thesecondcircle (dude, I don't even usually do the squeeing over kids thing, but your daughter seriously is the most adorable child in all of ever), nalathilion, carmelonia, wanderlustlover, _siddal_, thebratqueen, eiluned, faerishimmer (plus a neat beaded keychain), and alivemagdolene (which is probably the prettiest card I've ever gotten-- absolutely gorgeous hand-drawn Goddess art).

And the loot! Oh my god, the loot.

From belladonnastrap: the new Loreena McKennitt cd. Signed. Signed. I shrieked. Oh my god, did I shriek. I'm like... kinda afraid to touch it for fear that I will somehow mar its awesomeness.

From zenmaster: pretty much every kind of chocolate bar (superdark, my favorite!) I could ever want, lots of tea (of which I've gone through a half of the Indian Spice already!), a MidSummer's Night candle (which, I don't know if he knows or not, but it's the scent that I burn in tart-form when I write to get the creative juices flowing), Godiva dark chocolate truffle cocoa mix (!), and Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, which I've never heard of, but I'm sure will be just as fascinating as If You Meet The Buddha on the Road, Kill Him! Gragh. I opened the box, and this amazing scent just poured out. I went kinda nonverbal. Jeff, you are awesome. Thank you.

From brapolitics: a pretty red beaded necklace that I wore on Sunday night and on first glance I thought were rosary beads (!), Boss Lady Smokin' Fire Matches, Black Ginger soap, these zen candles that give off the strongest Gardenia scent ever, After Rapture Mints, Shut Up Gum, and, probably my favorite, a dark chocolate bar called "Things Get A Lot More Exciting in the Dark." Subtle, that Noelle. :)

tennyo sent me Lush stuff! Jingle Spells and Twinkle, to be specific. Because they are my favorite seasonal things. MMMMM. Thank you, Sarah!

marinatempest knitted me the most gorgeous scarf. I wear scarves a lot in the winter, as I am anemic and prone to freezing my ass off, and did not yet have anything that would match my more muted wardrobe. The scarf is a warm russet brown interwoven with soft peach and autumnal colors. It is absolutely beautiful and so so soft. Plus a soap that smells like fresh apples and cinnamon sticks. I almost asphyxiated whilst sniffing the bag.

From bellybalt: A signed photo of Angelina Jolie in lingerie. I think this requires no further discussion. Just drooling.

From deliriouscat: a beautiful amber pendant, Lindt truffles, and a handmade cinnamon soap. :)

Jon got me a ridiculous basket of foodie delights. Dark Gingerbread, caramel wafers, chocolate mousse cups, truffles. Basically, everything that he's terribly allergic to that I can't live without. Plus a full assortment of wine accoutrements-- a waiter's best friend, a re-capper. A book on how to appreciate wine to the fullest, written by a female master of wine. And two bottles of wine that we will likely share-- a completely irreplaceable bottle of Burgundy, and a Chianti made by monks on the top of some special hill in Tuscany. Who apparently also make olive oil, or something. In other words, exactly what I should have suspected from a foodie / future semmolier. Plus, from one straight-up geek to another, the official Firefly companion, volume 1. Which will go right next to my official Serenity companion as soon as I finish reading it. Really, the whole basket was completely overwhelming.

Skyler got me VAST's debut cd, which I had asked for, and a little pendant with five amber cabochons from different regions. Amber is my stone-- particularly Baltic amber, and it's absolutely beautiful.

From various friends and family, I got really cool metallic red tealight holders, an electric heating blanket (yes, and timely, as I will probably not have an organic man-shaped bedwarmer for awhile), a laptop (which I already squeed about, but omg, it plays DVDs and just as soon as I can get my fucking router working, I will be so so set), spice scented body oil, and smelly soaps and the like. And heh, a gift certificate to Panera Bread. People know me so well.

The most unique gift was an elephant hair bracelet from an honest-to-goodness shaman. It's for strength and patience, he said. Because gods below, am I gonna need those things in the coming months.

Really? I made out like a frikkin' bandit, and most of it was absolutely, completely unexpected. Picked out with such care-- I really saw the thought in each card and gift, and it was so warmly appreciated.

Thank you thank you thank you. I have enough books and cool stuff to listen to and things to bathe with and decadent chocolates to sample until I am approximately 72 years old.

EEEEE. Anyway, I hope the packages and cards (44!) that I sent made it into the hands of their intended recipients, and that their contents were well enjoyed. I did my best to pick out things that you'd like. And if I didn't get around to the presents (mostly net friends) and you're on the January list (aka, the "when my wallet recovers" list), you'll have something special coming your way sooner rather than later. I spent $55 in postage alone this month. Can you believe that?

And now, to the shower with me. And a heated blanket. Because I am le cold.

This time tomorrow, I will have different hair. Pink, quite possibly. Looking forward to it!