Thanks, April! I sew for fun, and also make quilts...but I never use a pattern. Can't read the things! Which is why I don't crochet much. I'm pretty good at knitting a simple afghan, though! :O) (meaning: if you like a single color, boring stitch!) lol Selling on Ebay is OK, but I've found it's only worth it with bigger ticket items, like over $10. Because there are list fees, ending value fees, and paypal fees too....so unless you charge an extra $2-3 on top of regular shipping charges (which most sellers do, it costs around $7 to ship a SHIRT! Geeze!). Anyway, I don't Ebay much anymore, only with things I KNOW will sell fairly well, because it just takes too much time...and it's not worth it in the end, to me. But I hope you make a good go of it, if you decide to try! Wishing you lots of luck!! :O) I forgot to show ya'll Aubeni's "cupcake". OhMyGoodness, I don't know WHAT I was thinking when I got this for her! (well, OK...it's pretty. That's what I was thinking!) :O) It's an 8" round Rose, chocolate cupcake in the middle (about the size of a mini muffin!!) and the rest is sugar icing. Big DUH here....I let her eat it for breakfast this morning!!!! I'm gonna be peeling her off the ceiling in about 30 minutes. (countdown begins....NOW......) LOL

I can't imagine treating an in-law like that - it does hurt. Some of these replies brought back some hurts that I had long buried. My MIL did that to me and it made me feel like I wasn't quite welcomed into the family. At first I thought she didn't care for me but after a few years I realized that I wasn't the only one to be slighted. My MIL played favorites - she favored her daughter over her son (my DH), she favored her DD's children over mine. She favored my first born over his siblings. It was obvious and the children caught on at a young age. She gave expensive presents or paid for home repairs for her DD even though her DD and her husband had a decent income. She never gave us a wedding present because she had just moved and 'didn't have time.' She would visit her DD and take her grandchildren on shopping trips. She'd come to visit us and give the kids a $10.00 bill - except she gave my eldest who was her favorite $20.00. I finally asked her about showing favoritism to the grand kids once when she was visiting. Her answer was that she was the Grandmother and was entitled. None of my adult children are married yet but when they do I hope to treat them equally and help them feel like part of the family.

I emjoyed reading about all of your celebrations. Glad to hear most of the steer are home. My Christmas started last Tuesday with the arrival of Nieces 1 & 2, plus 1's DH and two sons. I adore those kids. I gave then some Avatar figures and they played a lot with those. I got a bracelet made of beads. Mom made a pot roast dinner. I worked Wednesday and Thursday. The boss gave me some liquid soap and a candle that stink to high heavens, so they will be regifted or taken to the thrift shop. The aroma is supposed to be Fig but it's actually P.U. Christmas day was very quiet and made me wistful for the days of lots of relatives and complete bedlam. My older son came over and made a nice breakfast of french toast, bacon, eggs, coffee and juice. I got out the good china and silver just for the heck of it. I gave him a set to learn to juggle and he spent most of the day fooling with that and could do it by the end of the day. Dinner with Mom and she made lobster tails that were very good. We found #2 nephews shoes under the dining room table so I mailed those back on Saturday. The other half of the family arrives this Tuesday for lunch. That's my BIL and his wife, Niece #3, her DH and two daughters. Can't wait to see them. I work on Monday then have the rest of the week off. I have a job interview on Wednesday morning. I'll let you know more about that. I think I will make asparagus soup tonight. I bought a lot hoping I could convince Mom to come here for dinner, but no luck. So far no plans for New Year's Eve except to go to bed early!

I have decided to get the royal Albert lady Carlyle mainly because the tea cup is so cute and a lot more feminine looking than the noritake one plus the pattern is so beautiful! I had my eyes on this pattern for a while now and i thought it was discontinued but to my surprise it was still sold on the royal Albert website for even cheaper than ebay!! thank you for all your help! I can't wait to have tea parties with my girlfriends:))