Merry Christmas!

Taking a little study break to share my christmas joy!

All of the pictures are my first "practice" shots with my NEW CAMERA!

Yes, Ry, the best guy, gave me a kick-ass new digital camera!!

I may have been mentioning it to him daily since my old camera tried to kill itself during a ridiculous hike in the deserts of West Texas!

YAY for the new camera!
(And the 2GB memory card Ry won me on eBay!)
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And did I ever show you the BEAUTIFUL necklace Ry gave me for Christmas?

He couldn't wait until Christmas and he gave it to me after our awesome trip to Buffalo and our Black Friday adventures!
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The tree with all of our wonderful gifts from my parents!
Notice the comfy pjs, the cozy flannel sheets, and (sigh) Ry's new Met's blanket!
******************* Flannel Sheets -- I put them on the bed this morning!!
(After a nice washing at Dancing Fish & V's house!)
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Here's our favorite ornament on the tree!
Ry & I got it in Buffalo at Thanksgiving!
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Do my parents know how to have fun?
I think the beer-pong table set may come in handy for the Superbowl & Birthday Celebrations!
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Mom & Dad got me this awesome ornament with Santa riding an orca with a little dolphin friend!
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Speaking of whales, Dancing Fish found these awesome bookplates for me at One Good Bumblebee! They say "Don't be a blowhole. Return this book to:"
Seriously Cool.
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My labmate N gave me this cool green necklace and Hamster Grrl had spoiled me with lots of fun stuff -- a veggie steamer, mitten-shapped post-it notes, and a fridge-pack of Diet Coke!! WOOHOO!
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The Southern Yankee always amazes me with her Martha-Stewart-Skills and sent me this beautiful hand-made christmas decoration that looks perfect on my blue dresser (that is serving as a mantle this year!).
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Thanks family and friends!
I was completely sad about not being able to go home for Christmas this year, but all of the cards and photos and gifts helped to lighten my spirits!

And spending time with Ry and his family was nice too
-- though nothing can compete with a Sneks family Christmas.
Those of you in Buffalo know what I mean.

Here's a picture of the Sneks family house that I took last year.
(I know it just looks like the house is on fire ... gives you an idea how many lights are up!)

Hope you all had wonderful holidays with your family & friends!!!