What did you get for Christmas???

[AngieDoogles]

Originally Posted by Marilyn

Sounds like everyone had a really nice Christmas and got some really special things!! We did here, too. The best part was having both our daughters here, and Melissa's hubby. We had such a nice time with them!!

As far as material things, let's see, I got:

• The Nikon D60 camera that hubby actually gave me a couple of weeks before Christmas
• A reverse osmosis, under the counter unit for the kitchen so I don't have to use bottled water anymore to have chlorine free water for my bread making and mineral free water for my soap making.
• A Calphalon slow cooker with timer and an automatic settings.
• A small George Forman grill to take to work so I can cook low fat things for lunch.
• Melissa knitted me a muffler, so that's really special.
• An apple scented candle
• Some shortbread cookies
• Two bread making books, "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" by Peter Reinhart & "Artisan Baking" by Maggie Glezer
• A Yorkie Calendar

We are all so blessed!! We gave Karen a Wii with the MarioKart game, so she and I played that yesterday after Melissa and Garrett left. While they were here, the three kids played Xbox 360 Rock Band together. That one was really loud, so hubby retreated to our bedroom for a while. They got me involved in the action on Christmas evening. They got me to do vocals while Melissa was guitar, Karen on base and Garrett on drums. I didn't know many of the newer rock songs they were playing, so had to wing it, but it was actually a lot of fun. We definitely make some memories this Christmas.

Hope everyone else on here did well!!!!

Sounds like you had a great time! My hubby and I play Guitar Hero which is similar to Rock Band. It's great to do when you have guests. Our friends all really enjoy it.

I'm glad to hear that you had such a good holiday. Did Melissa and Garrett have a good first Christmas together? The first year of creating memories together is so much fun!

[AngieDoogles]

Marilyn, I forgot to mention that you will just LOVE the Nikon D60. My boss uses Nikon so that's what I use in studio and for weddings. You should try to read up on aperture, shutter speed, and ISO and then try some manual settings. You'll have A LOT more control over how your pic looks and once the relationship between the three clicks for you, it's easy. It might take a while to really click though and it can be frustrating at times. It's really worth the effort in the end though (in my opinion). If you ever need help with anything, let me know. If I don't know the answer (I still have SO much to learn), I can ask someone who does!

[Marilyn]

Originally Posted by AngieDoogles

Marilyn, I forgot to mention that you will just LOVE the Nikon D60. My boss uses Nikon so that's what I use in studio and for weddings. You should try to read up on aperture, shutter speed, and ISO and then try some manual settings. You'll have A LOT more control over how your pic looks and once the relationship between the three clicks for you, it's easy. It might take a while to really click though and it can be frustrating at times. It's really worth the effort in the end though (in my opinion). If you ever need help with anything, let me know. If I don't know the answer (I still have SO much to learn), I can ask someone who does!

Thank you Angie for the encouragement and offer of help. I took a photography course once, but that was many, many moons ago, and not sure I actually remember very much. Nikon has a video tutorial, but it is currently out of stock, but I do hope to learn how to work with the manual settings. I've taken some nice pictures already on auto and by turning the flash off and using the available lighting. The only problem is sometimes the shutter is so slow, I need a tripod because it's just not possible to hold still enough to eliminate the blur. I'll have to start another thread on Christmas lights and post some that I took so you can see. I think they turned out well even if I was shooting on auto.

[AngieDoogles]

Originally Posted by Marilyn

Thank you Angie for the encouragement and offer of help. I took a photography course once, but that was many, many moons ago, and not sure I actually remember very much. Nikon has a video tutorial, but it is currently out of stock, but I do hope to learn how to work with the manual settings. I've taken some nice pictures already on auto and by turning the flash off and using the available lighting. The only problem is sometimes the shutter is so slow, I need a tripod because it's just not possible to hold still enough to eliminate the blur. I'll have to start another thread on Christmas lights and post some that I took so you can see. I think they turned out well even if I was shooting on auto.

That's awesome! If you right click your photos, and click "properties" you can find out what settings the camera chose for you. If you want to use a faster shutter speed, you can widen your aperture (by lowering the F-number). It will allow more light in so you get the same exposure but without the motion blur caused by the slow shutter speed.

[Marilyn]

Originally Posted by AngieDoogles

That's awesome! If you right click your photos, and click "properties" you can find out what settings the camera chose for you. If you want to use a faster shutter speed, you can widen your aperture (by lowering the F-number). It will allow more light in so you get the same exposure but without the motion blur caused by the slow shutter speed.

Wow, thank you. I'll have to try that. You make it sound so easy!!

[AngieDoogles]

Originally Posted by Marilyn

Wow, thank you. I'll have to try that. You make it sound so easy!!

It starts to come naturally after a while, but there is always something new to learn. I'm just starting to feel like I really understand the basics. I've talked with people who just blow me away with the amount and depth of knowledge they have. Just when I think I've got it figured out, I hear a new term I have to go Google. LOL

Just keep practicing!

[Forgivenmom5]

I am trying to remember it all--there was so much

a nice robe from my friend Tammy that Crystal helped pick out
Crystal gave me a nice candle for my room, some gel pins, and a heart box that she painted herself
a co-worker gave me a nice gift bag with all the ingredients for a gooey chocolate cake (we had this for Christmas dinner)
a apple cider scented candle from my son's girlfriend (because I keep apple cider for them and their friends when they come over)
Traci gave me a nice clip on watch and some cosmetics (she moved up next to DC Christmas eve so she didn't have much time)
some cologne talc and lotion from my ex mother-in-law
a tripod for my camera, a camera bag, some cashews and a bag of one of my favorite candies from my mom and my oldest son, Randy.(Angela and Brendon did the shopping)
Angela and Brendon really spoiled me too!
I got a blue tooth headset, a nice candle holder set, and a case for my laptop!