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2011 was more than I deserved
12/29/11

I definitely had a better Christmas than I deserved, but I am not giving it back.

For starters, a week before Christmas my son, Tom, graduated from Texas Tech with a degree in English. It made me proud to see him reach that goal while working a lot of hours at Rudy’s Barbecue.

So Guns Up!, Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday to him, me and every member of the village who helped.

A couple of weeks before Christmas my home computer - a laptop that overheated and shut down so often that sending it to hell would be redundant – went completely bonkers in the middle of a pictorial blog I was working on for my website, www.karilynncollins .com.

The blog series highlighted 12 days of Christmas utilizing a cajun merman Christmas ornament I named Boudreaux,

Yes, that was a shameless plug, and I hope you visit it today and often.

It takes a lot to throw me into a full-blown tizzy, but shutting me down while I think I’m being funny will do the trick.

My husband Bobby, who has no love for any electronic product that starts with a lowercase i, got me one for Christmas.

With my brand-new iPad, I was able to almost finish the blog series; and I have also managed to play with it for hours on end, accomplishing close to nothing. All with a huge smile on my face.

My kids bought me one of those little video cameras, which could prove to be deliciously dangerous if I can figure out how to get images loaded into my iPad. I also received several sock monkey items (because who doesn’t love a sock monkey?), and Texas Tech apparel (because who doesn’t love ... nevermind.).

I received many beautiful material gifts that I truly treasure and am giddy beyond words to have.

But looking back on 2011, the best gifts I received were not those you can buy in a store.

I married an amazing man in July, surrounded by Arizona scenery, my children and members of our family.

I have been involved in charities that help other people and feed my soul.

I’ve spent more time with girlfriends, something I treasure more and more.

I’ve watched both of my children set and reach goals, and do things in general that make me proud.

I definitely had a better year than I probably deserve, but I’m not giving it back.