All I Want For Christmas...

Around this time last year I wrote a post about what I was wishing for for Christmas, so I thought I would do it again this year.

Honestly though, this year I'm not really expecting much. I spent a lot less than usual on my husband's gifts, and since he purchased our quite expensive plane tickets, I told him that's enough for me. I'm trying to keep our home buying goal front of mind--in a few months I bet we will be glad we didn't splurge on Christmas gifts!

But hey, on my blog I can always dream. So if we won the lottery, these are some of the things I would like.

Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Standard Zoom Lens

This has been on my Amazon wish list since May. I really would like to upgrade from my kit lens to this, and use it as my universal, everyday lens. I would finally be able to zoom in on wildlife!

K-Swiss Women's Bigshot Tennis Shoes, size 6.5

Supposedly (according to the K-Swiss site) the fastest tennis shoes on the market. Considering I've been playing 3-4 times a week, I think I need something a little better than the $30 Target shoes I've been wearing. 

Racket Re-Stringing

The rule of thumb is you're supposed to get your racket re-strung an equivalent number of times per year as times per week you play. So if I'm playing 3-4 times per week, I should be getting it re-strung 3-4 times per year. Uh, yeah. I've owned my racket for about 15 years, and had it re-strung once, about 14 years ago.

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Joby GP3 Gorillapod SLR-Zoom Flexible Tripod + BH1 Ball Head with Bubble Level

For travel and hiking

Dolica AX620B100 62-Inch Proline Tripod and Ball Head

For around the house

Let's Pretend This Never Happened: (A Mostly True Memoir)

Jenny Lawson's book (aka The Bloggess), sure to be awesome.

ASICS Unisex Adult De-Luxe Fleece Headband

I had one of these in college, and it rocked in the cold weather for keeping your ears warm, but not messing up your hair. My ears have been freezing while playing tennis at night, and I couldn't find one of these at Target. :(

Fotodiox Dedicated (Bayonet) Lens Hood

For the above lens.

The rest of my wish list is just experiences. With animals! :)

Conservators' Center Photography Tour

This tour offers participants the opportunity to capture great wildlife shots. You will have access to areas off of the regular tour path and the chance to safely take photos against the fencing with the aid of an experienced staff member.

 Duke Lemur Center Lemur Keeper for a Day

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a Lemur Keeper? Well, find out! Join one of our amazing lemur caretakers for a day and experience the life of a keeper first-hand. You will be involved in all aspects of the daily husbandry of our endangered prosimian primates here at the DLC. Help us prepare diets, clean, feed, enrich, and whatever else happens that day (lemurs ALWAYS keep you on your toes)! You will have a behind the scenes experience that only staff members ever do. So put on your cleaning boots, grab a hose AND your camera, and romp through the forest for a day with the lemurs! This will be an experience you will never forget!

 Carolina Tiger Rescue Twilight Tour

Your tour will take you on guided half-mile walk outdoors on grass and gravel to meet some of the world's most endangered species. Your guide will personally introduce you to tigers, lions, caracals, servals, ocelots, binturongs, and kinkajous, explaining the rescue stories that brought them to Carolina Tiger Rescue and the issues that their kind face in the wild. The tour will last approximately 1 1/2 - 2 hours, depending on the group's involvement. 

What are you asking for this Christmas? Or are you being more practical this year, and only dreaming about fun gifts?

My Christmas Wish List

Now that the holiday season is in full swing, I've been busy buying Christmas gifts for everyone on my list (getting close to being done!), and it started me thinking, what would I like for Christmas (or, more likely, what things will I eventually buy for myself!)?

A cute apron, since I'm just a regular domestic goddess these days (Not! But I could still use a cute apron.)

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The best catnip in the world. Well, really this is a present for my kitties, but it's so fun to watch them all cracked-out on this stuff, that it's sort of a gift for me too!

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Victoria's Secret pjs (that come with free slippers with a promo code on their home page!). So cute!

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A gift card to H&M. Since I lost some weight last spring, and have kept most of it off, I'm in need of some new clothes, especially pants. But I can't easily order online from Victoria's Secret anymore, since I'm not sure what size I am in fitted pants there anymore. I think I'll have to bite the bullet and actually go try on clothes in person.

I'm also really intrigued by the new Levi's Curve i.d. jeans, so a Levi's gift card would be awesome too. I would gladly go into the San Francisco store to get custom fitted, for jeans that would actually fit correctly in all the right places!

I've wanted diamond stud earrings to wear in my second ear holes, since, well, forever. So these are always on my list! I'd actually asked for them as my wedding gift from my husband, but then I ended up going about $500 over budget on my wedding band, so that became my wedding gift (although, now that I think about it, I did pay for my wedding band myself...).

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And of course, I'm dying for a nice DLSR camera. I hinted to my husband that he shouldn't get me anything for Christmas, and should combine my Christmas and birthday gifts to get me this bad boy this spring:

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The Canon EOS Rebel T2i. I would have so much fun learning how to use this, instead of trying to get cool shots with my little point and shoot Canon that lives in my purse.

I need to do a little more research on lenses though. It's only $100 more to get it with the kit lens (EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6), however, I think I really want this lens, the EF 50mm f1.4 USM, for about $350. So I need to look into if it's worth the extra $100 for the kit lens, since I did see in reviews that it's a good lens for a kit, or if I should just go with the body and the 50mm lens. Or maybe I should hold off on the more expensive lens and try to get away with just the kit lens for a while, until I learn the camera?

What are your wish list items this year?