WOW. I am in daze of freakin’ awesomeness after opening my gift from the coolest Santa in the contiguous US. Please excuse my ugly cry face; if you squint you can see enchantment seeping out my pores. My SS began the adventure asking me a bunch of questions and I gladly spent most of my work day answering them. She was learning about me, but I was learning even more about myself. Answering “Swim with dolphins or feed a shark” or “What was your favorite part of today” made me slow down and think. Pretty cool. It was so nice to reflect on the questions and answer with my heart….I would absolutely feed a shark; dolphins are, eh.

The pictures tell the journey. From, “Oh, hey! Box!” to “Please stop taking my picture; I’m crying over a rock and YOU WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND!”

My dogs devoured the baked delights and I’ve already eaten all warheads. The journal…Mullet vs Rattail – This bookmarked page begged me to drop what I was doing, grab a glass of wine (thx for the gift card!!) and answer immediately. Mullet, hands down. The rattail reminds me of a 5th grader who had a motorbike and bragged about his uncles el camino. I’m an adult and I still want to punch him.

Amazing gift wrap? Check!

Bacon hot chocolate? Yes.

Pralines? Indeed!

The best coffee table / travel / exploration book? I’m going to read it more than twice.

The rock from Magazine St…This is where I absolutely lost control of my emotions and my boyfriend kept taking pictures. My SS said they currently resided in one of the cities I used to live and asked what local product/goodie do I miss. I have lived in Seattle and New Orleans. I miss smoked salmon from the Pacific NW blah blah, but mostly miss EVERYTHING from NOLA. I said “anything from Magazine st., literally, a rock from Magazine would be a treasured item in my house.” That’s what /u/knottheend got me. A rock from Magazine St.

I’m f’ing crying again. The rock was perfect. It IS perfect.

Thank you, /u/knottheend. Thank your boyfriend for laughing with you; mine was too. Thank you for the awesome story I’ll share with my friends, and the awesome questions I can ask them (rope swing vs inner tube). Cheers. Michele.