I was going to wait until I had more comments...

but, that will take too long and Christmas season will have passed. Besides, I have pictures to share.

A friend of mine had a Christmas brunch with a white elephant gift exchange. The rules of the game are somewhat complicated, but apparently if you are the first to open a gift your choices of gifts is limited only by what others bring. I liked this game, this time. I was #1. There was some discussion about the ethics of stealing a gift from another participant (why can't I put "player" in there?). We wondered if sugar coating it into "going along with it because it's part of the game" or trading (which it really couldn't be called that!) would somehow make it right. In the end we just played the game with a guilty conscience at practicing stealing from one another... Would someone comment about this dilemma, please?

In the end in exchange for a Spanish-English dictionary (is it really a dictionary?) I acquired/stole/left with a beautiful chrome and glass shelf that is close enough to what MM wanted that I don't have to hear about it for the next 30 years.
This spot on our wall used to be empty. We have all white walls (with a ever so slight shade of rose - but for you decorators out there - it's white) and white appliances and light tan (really it is colored) tile and a white tub with white tile and white toilet and white... Well, you get the point. So the chrome is our friend. But to me that's not the best thing. It was fun watching MM put it up. All I had to do was threaten to put holes in the walls and he was Johnny on the Spot. Now way would I be allowed to put the shelf up on my own. Never mind that I'd have probably not shown my kids how to trust Jesus in all things...

OK, that was a sad confession but it's true. However, what I did get a niche in my testosterone laden house with only one bathroom (I don't need it changed, really. I like it this way.) where I can store my girl stuff (not all of it!). Note: heretofore I didn't not need said shelf as I had no "girl stuff" that needed its own shelf. It was all community property and didn't deserve special treatment. But MM in all his creativity came up with one gift for Christmas that he could get for me - a CHI. The shampoo and conditioner etc was not his idea - it was my second mother's idea. She's a professional hair stylist and what she says goes.

This is M. Some have not quite figured out the naming system I use for my boys. It's S, M and L. As in Small Medium and Large. Someday, God willing, they'll all be large compared to me, but they'll always be S, M and L. So this is M. He's a little silly around the camera and we still love him!

So now I have a new niche in my bathroom where I can store my stuff out of little one's reach, I don't have any climbers to speak of... The ones that can reach don't because they are girly.