An Asustor AS-302T. 🙂 My Dad rocks.

Now that we are on a fixed income, we stopped exchanging gifts for christmas. While we will give gifts to friends and non-resident family, we don’t exchange them between ourselves.

Whenever we need anything throughout the year and the budget allows, we simply buy it at a time it is most needed.

We had a bit of chocolates (Ghirardelli!), some cash (which sadly fueled our van for the long trip out East to see the family), and a couple giftcards. The kids, however, were SPOILED! Nextbook tablets (I give that brand a major thumbs-up, BTW, if you are looking for an inexpensive Android tablet) for the oldest three, complete with cases with keyboards, plus Gamestop coupons and other fun things (often involving sugar). The littlest got a few videogames and expansions to her PillowPet collection.

Lots of fun… but my gift to myself is still upcoming. My main rig blew the motherboard, which was a last-edition AGP-bearing AM2-socket part, and it’s not worth replacing because prices for NEW WITH WARRANTY motherboards that old are idiotic; but the fact is that NOTHING, RAM, video cards, etc., is worth pushing forward, so it is the time for a whole brand new system for the first time in many years. I’m hoping that will be in a month or two. In the mean time, I’m laptop only, but I can deal.