As the New Year approaches.....

[Quakindude]

Well, my shopping is done.

The cards are all filled out and sent, the presents shipped and the waiting game begun.

For my Daughter, a Nikon CoolPix L4, Class Ring($250) and clothes.

My son, multiple games, New Skate Boards, upgrades to his AMD rig and clothes.

My wife, iPod Shuffle with engraved back. Laptop earlier in the year.

Me. New C2D computer that I've built over the last few months. (I must admit here, I cut lawns on my riding mower over the summer to be able to afford the computer, so it didn't come out of the household budget. And I also sold one of my Eve toons for $1k. Since my son was my employee for grass cutting, I had some overhead to worry about) I'm sure there will be a gift or two under the tree. Hopefully, a new set of slippers. The ones I have now suck.

The whole family has been enjoying the new Home Theater set up. 51" T.V., new HDMI DVD Player that up converts Cable signals to 1080i, Onkyo Home Theater system, etc.

It's been a good year. Next year will be a year of change as I retire from the military, medical retirement seems inevitable, the wife is being promoted within Lowe's at an accelerated rate and my son will hit highschool. My Daughter will be in the 11th grade and she has JROTC in full swing, an advanced diploma in the works and softball this year. My son has football, baseball and he is thinking of Basketball this year.

Ah, the steps of life keep on coming. Ready or not.

I've written my first review for HL, soon to be released, and things are looking good on many fronts. It should be interesting to see what my thoughts are 6 months from now.

Merry Christmas to all of you. Happy New Year and man, do I look forward to these next 12 months.

Sounds like your house hold will be having a great Christmas this year!!
I could use a few of those items myself!

[garetjax]

Nice (500th!) post Quakin.

I too, have all the cards filled out and mailed. Christmas cookies have been baked and sent out. Finishing up the fall semester at college. No snow yet, but hope to have some soon. I am screaming (silently) for snow. I want to go skiiing!

The year has been a rocky, crazy one. Today marks the first year anniversary in which I separated from the Air Force and moved to Pennsylvania after a decade of active duty military service. Money has been tight throughout the entire year, not that many gifts under the tree. Between the move from California to Pennsylvania, being laid off from work just before the holidays, both my dad and my mother-in-law (really, my second mom) diagnosed with cancer, colon and breast respectively, starting school at a new college and my wife's computer requiring new RAM and a motherboard swap out, things have been really up and down this year. It has indeed been a crazy, crazy year.

Next year should be better. I start school full time, 16 credits a semester, will (hopefully) gain a paid internship at a DoD facility that works with internet security, my wife will be more happier as she will start cutting hair professionally again, and my dad and mother-in-law slowly recover from being zapped with chemo every other day.

To all, I wish a very Merry Christmas and a bountiful and happy New Year. Life is what we make it; let yourself make life what it is, not the other way around. Be good to all, and they will be good to you.

Awesome post/thread, Quakin. I learned more about you in that one post than I have the entire time I have been here. I hope more people post in this thread that you have started, give us all a glimpse into their world, and how they have seen the year in their eyes.

[Xalithar]

This is the first year I have ever been done with my Christmas shopping before th 22nd. Feels GOOD to get away from the mall and all the insanity

Oh yea I do most of my shopping online!!!!!!!!! Hate all the crazys out at this time of year!!

I'll have to agree with Rage no way am I going out in all that madness......... 99% of it is being done on line..........No packed malls for this elf!

I'm about 50/50 on this one.
Id have to say the guys I get there stuff on line and the girls well it's Victoria Secrets and stuff like that.