From Michelle Again

Dear Elves,

I know it's after Thanksgiving and you've been very busy. I don't want to add any stress to your duties by making another list if you've already done all your gift selections, but I had a few more ideas and thought I'd let you know about them, just in case you needed some more information from me. The ideas I wrote about earlier are all still things I like, so this is just an additional note.

We are always in need of batteries. We have plenty of toys and tools that use them. I could use 4 AAA for my calculator (rechargeable or regular), a few regular AA for flashlights, clocks, etc, or AA rechargables for the camera, portable CD player and little tape recorder that Katy uses. We already have a Duracell charger, but I am wondering if we need a new one. How do you tell if one is still good? We have issues with the current batteries not staying charged for long in our camera. The batteries are about a year old.

Something fun, but definitely not necessary, that I like is Bath and Body Works hand soap. This is something I always like to use at others' houses, but never buy for our house. We use regular store-brand liquid hand soap, but it would be fun to indulge once in a while.

I would like to update my closet a little so I feel like I have outfits I can wear in public. I love bargains and did a little Black Friday shopping, but I'd welcome any additions. Specifically, I could use some longer length exercise pants. The pants I wear for walking are kind of short for my height, so I look a little dorky--especially since I just bought new (white) shoes and the pants are black! I don't mind second hand stuff. I wear a lot of black, but like bright colors too. I prefer things that have an easy upkeep. It's hard for me to find much time to iron. One of my favorite stores to shop for clothes at is JC Penney.

Lastly, we like to travel. We've cut back a bit because our car has had some issues. It's doing okay now, but we don't like to drive it too far out of town. It's not a problem, but once in a while we do want to travel to the temple or visit another city. We thought of visiting Indianapolis in January to see the famous children's museum and take Mike to the airport, but we think we'll have to rent a car to go. Do you have any connections with the car rental companies?

Well, I've done a lot of typing and erasing and typing and erasing and typing. Christmas letters and lists are hard for me to write for various reasons. I'll quickly post this so I can move on. :)

Merry Christmas!

Michelle