best gifts ever

Slow to Sleep by Saelee Oh

Shannon gave me this fabulous print, Slow to Sleep by Saelee Oh. Henry said that it was the best non-family related gift ever. We are so excited about getting it framed. Receiving this work of art made me realize that in 2006, I should give the gift of art. So I am going to try to commit to that – birthdays, Christmas, the whole gamut. I had planned in the past to collect a piece of art work each year, but have not managed to accomplish that. At least with this gift, I am not another year behind. So that is exciting…

Shannon has several sites that she recommends for buying work from artists. A few include…
Motel Gallery
Evah Fan
Jen Corace
Saelee Oh
Etsy

Now receiving the award for the most shocking gift ever… Sarah gave us the 2005 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship DVD. Sarah hates UNC so much I even mentioned it in my toast at her wedding this May. I knew that she would come around once she married Eric, who is working on his third degree from UNC.

This is the first Christmas that Sarah and I did not exchange gifts on Christmas Day since we were three years old. It was sad that this tradtion may be over after twenty-eight years of greetings over a country Christmas breakfast. But we had a great time on Monday, when we all got together in Chapel Hill with our new young families and friends for lunch. On our way back to DC, Jason, Henry and I met Shannon at Sarah and Eric’s house. We went out to lunch at Pepper’s. Since Sarah hosted her entire new family this year, Brian also joined us for lunch at Pepper’s Pizza. (My mom was very impressed with this and shared it with our entire extended family when they realized that the Woodards weren’t present.)

I hope that our post-Christmas lunch begins a new tradition that is more fun and meaningful over the years. See, I am open to change – as long as what replaces a tradition becomes more than what the tradition was before.