Santa Brought Me...

RedWeb

Semi-Pro
In the spirit of this Christmas and New Year's season I thought I'd start a new thread for people to mention what Santa brought them for Christmas and what they are thankful for (keep it tennis related if you please)...

Santa brought me some Tecnifibre X-One Biphase 17 String and a pair of Prince T24 shoes... I'm thankful that my knees are holding up after surgery 18 months ago and I found an over-55 team to play on for the new year.
 
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I bought myself the new Ascis Solutions (I can never spell acis right--only been wearing their running shoes since the 70's--G-d I'm old) because they look like the color of my car and and are light and fast. And I bought them from TW. So far I got a tennis ball key-chain but the big haul is coming tonight. I hope I get a case of the cheap Costco Penns so I can open two cans at a time when I play with the cheap-skates--can't use 'em up fast enough.
 

TommieF

Rookie
For some reason my family thought I needed three cans of pink tennis balls

Ya, I love when I get the gift of tennis balls that no way I will use them in a regular hit or match. Once I got the bag of tennis balls that just have Penn written on them. I can't even give those away to the club for tennis drills those balls are so bad.
 

blakesq

Hall of Fame
My wife got me two private lessons at the club. However, i have a torn meniscus in my knee...so, am thinking I won't use the lessons till after the surgery! :(
 

Cindysphinx

G.O.A.T.
A few months back, my husband and I discussed my buying two new rackets. We didn't want to spend the money, but my rackets are from 2006. We decided I would get the new rackets. After all, if you spend $400 on rackets and keep them five years, that's only $80 a year -- a steal, right?

I shopped around and got them in October. They are *sweet!*

This month, one of my teammates called and said she was thinking of replacing her Babolats. She wanted to know what kind I thought was best. I told her I had just bought two new PDs and was very happy with them.

The next thing I know, my husband is calling to tell me that he had planned to get the new rackets for me for Christmas. He had asked my teammate to gather info on what kind of racket he should buy, and that is how he had learned I had already bought them.

Get this, though. He's actually mad about this. I told him we could consider them to be my present so he doesn't have to go find something else. He thought I should have waited because Christmas was coming. Just last week, he brought it up again and he is still steamed.

What the heck? Honestly, I do not require that my husband kill himself to find the perfect gifts for me. I'm not a four-year-old who will be devastated if my Christmas haul is skimpy.

OK, husbands. What say you? Did I do something wrong?
 

jswinf

Professional
OK, husbands. What say you? Did I do something wrong?

When you put it like that, what can we say but "No, dear, everything's fine. Just fine. Here's a vegetable chopper, Merry Christmas."

I had a nice Christmas mostly dominated by a first grandchild. For some reason my brother gave me a whisk broom.
 

maggmaster

Hall of Fame
I have a system for Christmas, I go to the higher end local mall, all the boutique owners know me, I ask them what my wife was looking at last time she was in and then I buy it. Takes me an hour, and she is always happy.
 

mikeler

Moderator
I have a system for Christmas, I go to the higher end local mall, all the boutique owners know me, I ask them what my wife was looking at last time she was in and then I buy it. Takes me an hour, and she is always happy.

Sounds kind of like my system. I actually walked around the mall with my wife so she could give me ideas. A good gift without a surprise is much better than a bad surprise upon opening a gift.
 

goober

Legend
OK, husbands. What say you? Did I do something wrong?

Personally it wouldn't bother me a bit, but I am not your husband so my opinion probably doesn't mean much.:)

Christmas in our household revolves around the kids and other family members kids. We don't get worked up about who gives what to the adults.
 

Cindysphinx

G.O.A.T.
Personally it wouldn't bother me a bit, but I am not your husband so my opinion probably doesn't mean much.:)

Christmas in our household revolves around the kids and other family members kids. We don't get worked up about who gives what to the adults.

Totally.

Sadly, I married into a family of gift givers. In that family, you'd better give a gift whether you can afford one or not.

I, on the other hand, don't like scheduled gift giving. If and when I see something a loved one might like, I buy it and give it. I don't like doing it because a certain day is approaching (Valentine's day, Christmas, Birthdays). When you get a gift from me, you will know it really was because I was thinking of you and the gift will mean something to both of us.

And I especially don't like expensive gifts purchased by my husband out of a sense of obligation that drain our community property bank account.

Cindy -- who received motorized herb storage container last year, who gave it to the Salvation Army, and who had to make up a lie about its whereabouts when the giver inquired about it this year
 

Mongolmike

Hall of Fame
Amongst the gifts we got, I got my wife $100 card for local club for clothes or lessons, she got me $50 gift card to TW.

I've made Xmas shopping very easy for my wife... I told her gift cards to any combo of the following works PERFECT for me... TW, Lowes, Home Depot, Sears, Best Buy, ***** Sporting, local club. Surprise me. It's ALWAYS a perfect gift. (She doesn't quite like it, cause she wants it to be more tangible and a surprise... I like it cause I can get EXACTLY what I want. My thinking is I'd rather recieve a gift that I like and can use, then getting another golf sweater in a color I would've never picked out and probably won't wear.)
 

NLBwell

Legend
What the heck? Honestly, I do not require that my husband kill himself to find the perfect gifts for me. I'm not a four-year-old who will be devastated if my Christmas haul is skimpy.

OK, husbands. What say you? Did I do something wrong?

Sounds good to me. My first wife would end up crying every Christmas evening because something wasn't good enough. Our anniversary, her birthday, and Mother's day all came within about a two week period. I knew I would be punished and my life would be hell for a while no matter how hard I tried to get all the perfect gifts and make each day as good as possible.

Women......
 

Cindysphinx

G.O.A.T.
Sounds good to me. My first wife would end up crying every Christmas evening because something wasn't good enough. Our anniversary, her birthday, and Mother's day all came within about a two week period. I knew I would be punished and my life would be hell for a while no matter how hard I tried to get all the perfect gifts and make each day as good as possible.

Women......
I'm curious. Were there any signs before you wed that she was, erm, difficult and needy in this area? Or did she decide that gift-giving was the be-all-end-all after you wed?

See, I'm thinking people who are dating need to test the waters before they get married. If you think she's The One, you need to deliberately get her a crappy gift for her birthday or Valentine's day. See if she handles it with grace or whether she pouts or whether she goes all quiet. If she flips out . . . you're facing 50 years of scouring the local mall for a gift that won't touch off a tantrum.

You need to look for women like me, who don't give a flying fig about gifts and cards and birthdays. Sadly, LeeD has already laid claim to me . . . .
 

catfish

Professional
Sounds good to me. My first wife would end up crying every Christmas evening because something wasn't good enough. Our anniversary, her birthday, and Mother's day all came within about a two week period. I knew I would be punished and my life would be hell for a while no matter how hard I tried to get all the perfect gifts and make each day as good as possible.

Women......

Are you married to a 5 year old girl? Sure sounds like it.
 

Cindysphinx

G.O.A.T.
Catfish, believe it or not, I have witnessed such behavior.

In the case I am thinking of, the individual who becomes upset generally feels unappreciated. This causes her to look for instances in which proper levels of appreciation are not shown. Christmas becomes an exercise in showing appreciation, which must take the form of expensive gifts that are exactly as the recipient wanted.

The funny thing, though, is the person I am thinking of is a huge shopper. She loves shopping herself, which means she owns everything and is impossible to buy for. She also doesn't think shopping is a huge chore, so if someone doesn't spend enough effort, well . . . this shows a lack of appreciation.

My sample size is just one, but it does explain how an adult acts out on Christmas day.
 

stapletonj

Hall of Fame
"However, i have a torn meniscus in my knee...so, am thinking I won't use the lessons till after the surgery!"

Hey blakesq., attorney to attorney, dont be so quick to go under the knife for that. I had a torn meniscus about 10 years ago and the local othopod was all "cut cut cut, but you'll have arthritis in 10 years".


i found myself in AL about 2 weeks before the surgery and wen to the clinic in Birmingham of the famed Dr. James Andrews. One of his Dr. minions saw me, took some images, and opined that I didn't need surgery at all.

He took me down in the therapy area (HUGE) which was lined with posters from nobodies like Joe Montana, Shaq, etc., from every sport you could image, all of whivch were signed with "Thanks for saving my career" or the like.

He put me on a glucosime regimen, gave me some exercises to do to strengthen the knee, etc. 10 years later I am running 5K or more 5 times a week and doing tennis drills (Cardiotennis) 2X a week for 2 hours. Little to no knee pain.

Of course, YMMV, and I have no idea of your situation, but I will say, dont let it be a foregone conclusion that if the meniscus is torn you gotta cut.
 

OrangePower

Legend
On the whole gift-giving thing...

My wife and I don't buy each other Xmas gifts any more. Kids are a different story of course. But for the adults, well, we are both quite particular with our stuff, and prefer getting exactly what we want rather than what the other person thinks we want, however well-intentioned. For a while we did the gift card thing, until we realized how silly it is... it all comes out of the same bank account after all. So now our agreement is that we each just get to splurge on something for ourselves come the holidays... and everyone's happy :)
 

TimothyO

Hall of Fame
- a case of tennis balls

- some wrist bands and a head band

- a proper tennis bag to replace my ancient, beat up, black backpack with zippers that could no longer hold the frames. It's a red Babolat Team 6-pack and it really is a lot better than that old backpack. One side for three frames and the other for balls, etc.
 

max

Legend
This was really about the first Christmas when I felt like, heck, it's just stuff and I really could use LESS stuff and more enjoyable, unique experiences.
 
... However, i have a torn meniscus in my knee...so, am thinking I won't use the lessons till after the surgery! :(

Hey blakesq., attorney to attorney, dont be so quick to go under the knife for that. I had a torn meniscus about 10 years ago and the local othopod was all "cut cut cut, but you'll have arthritis in 10 years".

... but I will say, dont let it be a foregone conclusion that if the meniscus is torn you gotta cut.


As a plaintiff to an attorney, I'm with SJ on this. Do your due diligence before you let any white coat cut you. Research "failed knee surgery". Here's a couple of articles about studies:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/11/health/research/11knee.html

http://www.healthline.com/health-bl...eniscus-not-needed-stop-pain-restore-function
 
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NLBwell

Legend
Are you married to a 5 year old girl? Sure sounds like it.

Catfish, believe it or not, I have witnessed such behavior.

In the case I am thinking of, the individual who becomes upset generally feels unappreciated. This causes her to look for instances in which proper levels of appreciation are not shown. Christmas becomes an exercise in showing appreciation, which must take the form of expensive gifts that are exactly as the recipient wanted.

The funny thing, though, is the person I am thinking of is a huge shopper. She loves shopping herself, which means she owns everything and is impossible to buy for. She also doesn't think shopping is a huge chore, so if someone doesn't spend enough effort, well . . . this shows a lack of appreciation.

My sample size is just one, but it does explain how an adult acts out on Christmas day.

The gift didn't need to be expensive, she wasn't money driven, just the RIGHT one (of course there was no RIGHT one).

Life advice to all you young guys out there:
Be wary of marrying the daughter of two alcoholics, even if she doesn't have any alcohol problems. For the lost child, there is a hole of not being appreciated and of being ignored in the midst of the family dysfunction. (the other case is the mother-child who becomes the mother, trying to organize the chaos, who must have control)
At the time (just out of college), I didn't know that family dynamics during childhood mattered that much to adult relationships. Now, I ask early on about the family of the women I date. Not that I've bothered to date anyone for a long while.

Chapter 1 of Dr. Laura's book to men about relationships "Ten Stupid Things Men Do to Mess Up Their Lives" is "Stupid Chivalry" -- don't be the White Knight.
 
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NLBwell

Legend
As far as meniscus surgery, I've had a few - along with other knee surgeries. Each case is different.
From my experience, I've had small chips that would catch and grind into the cartilage causing more damage which I had taken out quickly. I have a large tear in my knee cartilage now, but the surgeon said it is laying flat and to fix it he would have to take all the cartilage out which would cause arthritis, so he didn't do it. So far, everything is good, If it acts up, I try to get it back in place and rest it (inflammation is bad) and take Condroitin and Glucosamine.
I tore cartilage in my shoulder in January (I knew exactly what it was because I had heard that sound in my knee before). I didn't even go to the doctor because I would rather not be able to serve than have another operation. However, I had a pretty good idea that the chip wasn't grinding into anything and it would dissolve - which it has after almost a year.
 
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The gift didn't need to be expensive, she wasn't money driven, just the RIGHT one (of course there was no RIGHT one).

Life advice to all you young guys out there:
Be wary of marrying the daughter of two alcoholics, even if she doesn't have any alcohol problems. For the lost child, there is a hole of not being appreciated and of being ignored in the midst of the family dysfunction. (the other case is the mother-child who becomes the mother, trying to organize the chaos, who must have control)
At the time (just out of college), I didn't know that family dynamics during childhood mattered that much to adult relationships. Now, I ask early on about the family of the women I date. Not that I've bothered to date anyone for a long while.

Chapter 1 of Dr. Laura's book to men about relationships "Ten Stupid Things Men Do to Mess Up Their Lives" is "Stupid Chivalry" -- don't be the White Knight.

There's a lot of wisdom up there that bears repeating, so I copied. Tattoo that on your brains, it'll save you'll a lot of time and money not to mention grief. Always park nose end out, a valise in the trunk and toss the cell phone in the bay after running it over.
 
As far as meniscus surgery, I've had a few - along with other knee surgeries. Each case is different.

...and take Condroitin and Glucosamine.

...I tore cartilage in my shoulder in January (I knew exactly what it was because I had heard that sound in my knee before).

... I didn't even go to the doctor because I would rather not be able to serve than have another operation.

More hard earned wisdom there from NLBwell--try to stay away from white coats with knives in their hands. Do the pre and post-op PT, take the morphine and percodan--just avoid the surgery unless you're unconscious.

Part II: Read books by Dr. John E. Sarno about the relationship of stress and injuries--they are like a bad marriage--and usually caused by bad marriages--with or without the license.

Sorry, got to disagree on the glucosamine chondroitin, taken barrels of it myself and the definitive studies show it's placebo--but Costco sells a lot of it anyway.

A lot of those snap, crackle, pop sounds coming from joints and other terrible sounds emanating from the body, are scary but not that bad. The body is tough, it takes a lot to tear it apart. Do some reflection on the 90 second change overs before freaking out--read a good book like Courier.
 
...We didn't want to spend the money, but my rackets are from 2006. We decided I would get the new rackets. ...
He's actually mad about this. ...

Something is strange here. Communication possibly.

...I married into a family of gift givers. In that family, you'd better give a gift whether you can afford one or not.

I, on the other hand, don't like scheduled gift giving. ....
herb storage....Salvation Army....lie....

THAT family? They are your family, and your are theirs.
I'm with you on the disdain for scheduled gift giving, and donating to the SA...but the lying, nah.
Just communicate and tell the truth. Appreciate the person and the thought.

Sounds good to me. My first wife would end up crying every Christmas evening because something wasn't good enough. Our anniversary, her birthday, and Mother's day all came within about a two week period. I knew I would be punished and my life would be hell for a while no matter how hard I tried to get all the perfect gifts and make each day as good as possible.

Women......

I am going to go kiss my wife right now. B!tchezbecrazy.

EDIT:
Oh and for Christmas this year, we mostly gave/got eachother:
some great family time,
some thoughtful and also useful gifts and gift cards,
a case of coconut water, a case of Pro Penn Marathons,
one or two things I would never have bought myself, but I will probably end up using (expensive bike headlight, gloves, funny books, a few high-end beverages, a picnic chair and blanket for tournaments),
a cool metal water bottle for the bikes,
a hooded sweatshirt,
and some more family time.

Good times. Thankful. Oh and there was an iPad in there, too, and some sweaters and gloves...and some prepaid indoor court time. Great Christmas. Incredibly sweet family.
 
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blakesq

Hall of Fame
Well, that seals it, I am going to get a 2nd opinion!

"However, i have a torn meniscus in my knee...so, am thinking I won't use the lessons till after the surgery!"

Hey blakesq., attorney to attorney, dont be so quick to go under the knife for that. I had a torn meniscus about 10 years ago and the local othopod was all "cut cut cut, but you'll have arthritis in 10 years".


i found myself in AL about 2 weeks before the surgery and wen to the clinic in Birmingham of the famed Dr. James Andrews. One of his Dr. minions saw me, took some images, and opined that I didn't need surgery at all.

He took me down in the therapy area (HUGE) which was lined with posters from nobodies like Joe Montana, Shaq, etc., from every sport you could image, all of whivch were signed with "Thanks for saving my career" or the like.

He put me on a glucosime regimen, gave me some exercises to do to strengthen the knee, etc. 10 years later I am running 5K or more 5 times a week and doing tennis drills (Cardiotennis) 2X a week for 2 hours. Little to no knee pain.

Of course, YMMV, and I have no idea of your situation, but I will say, dont let it be a foregone conclusion that if the meniscus is torn you gotta cut.
 

Murray2012

New User
My wife got me a tennis calender for my office.
My kids got me the book 'Andy Murray Champion' by Mark Hodgkinson - I have almost finished it and would recommend it.
My sister got me 20x Wilson US Open tennis balls.

I am the only earner in my house and could have bought myself any of these (I suppose I did really but I dont see it as 'my' money) but enjoyed getting them as surprises, particularly when my tennis/Andy Murray mad 7 year old daughter was really excited to see me open the book. I do stop buying books in the run up to Christmas to leave things for others to get me. I can always buy whatever I wanted after Christmas if it didnt arrive in a parcel.
 
I am the only earner in my house and could have bought myself any of these (I suppose I did really but I dont see it as 'my' money) but enjoyed getting them as surprises, particularly when my tennis/Andy Murray mad 7 year old daughter was really excited to see me open the book.

THE CHRISTMAS WINNER!
 

Lefty78

Professional
A few months back, my husband and I discussed my buying two new rackets. We didn't want to spend the money, but my rackets are from 2006. We decided I would get the new rackets. After all, if you spend $400 on rackets and keep them five years, that's only $80 a year -- a steal, right?

I shopped around and got them in October. They are *sweet!*

This month, one of my teammates called and said she was thinking of replacing her Babolats. She wanted to know what kind I thought was best. I told her I had just bought two new PDs and was very happy with them.

The next thing I know, my husband is calling to tell me that he had planned to get the new rackets for me for Christmas. He had asked my teammate to gather info on what kind of racket he should buy, and that is how he had learned I had already bought them.

Get this, though. He's actually mad about this. I told him we could consider them to be my present so he doesn't have to go find something else. He thought I should have waited because Christmas was coming. Just last week, he brought it up again and he is still steamed.

What the heck? Honestly, I do not require that my husband kill himself to find the perfect gifts for me. I'm not a four-year-old who will be devastated if my Christmas haul is skimpy.

OK, husbands. What say you? Did I do something wrong?

I don't see anything wrong with picking out and/or purchasing what you want ahead of time, but you could've given the racquets to your hubby to box up for Xmas day, so that you both felt good about the gift. Please tell me he ended up getting you a vacuum cleaner?
 

JRstriker12

Hall of Fame
Bought myself the Nike Men's Holiday Hyperply Therma Jacket and Nike Men's Holiday Therma Pant.

It's getting cold and these keep my toasty on the way to and from the gym and the courts.
 
Rechargable batteries, $50 card to the "I do my own remodeling" store, and some nookie from the wife. She got a Dr. Who t shirt in a refrigerator box.
 
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Angle Queen

Professional
I got a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 from the hubs and a can of tennis balls from each my two little girls (purchased with their own allowance money...they are 6 and 4-yrs old).

Guess which gift(s) I'll enjoy the most. :p
 

mikeler

Moderator
I got a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 from the hubs and a can of tennis balls from each my two little girls (purchased with their own allowance money...they are 6 and 4-yrs old).

Guess which gift(s) I'll enjoy the most. :p

Of course the Galaxy. Balls are dime a dozen. Those kids should know to borrow the money from Dad for your gifts by now. Just kidding, that is a neat story. :)
 

Angle Queen

Professional
Of course the Galaxy. Balls are dime a dozen. Those kids should know to borrow the money from Dad for your gifts by now. Just kidding, that is a neat story. :)

Ha! Typing on the Tab now. The autofill is killin' me.

But my girls were so cute: they''re crap Wilson balls...but they made sure one bought "red" and the other "green"...for clay AND hard courts, Mommy!!

And "allowance" wasn't really the right term (they don't get one yet)....they earn it one quarter at a time helping with laundry and by unloading the dishwasher. Thems some expensive balls!
 

Rjtennis

Hall of Fame
I got two reel of string, a new starting clamp, a Nike shirt and shorts and a TW gift card. It was a happy tennis Xmas for me.
 
^Love that! The gift that keeps on giving!^

Yes, THAT family.

Did you catch NLBwell's remarks above about how a person's family can, erm, influence what they become when they marry?

It's true.

I got NLBWell's remarks. I probably missed your point.

My point was simply that when you get married, there's really no more this family and that family. It's family.
 

Cindysphinx

G.O.A.T.
^Love that! The gift that keeps on giving!^



I got NLBWell's remarks. I probably missed your point.

My point was simply that when you get married, there's really no more this family and that family. It's family.

There's his family, my family, our family.

Say there is a problem or delicate interpersonal situation with his mother. I do not ever raise the issue with her. I raise it with husband, he raises it with his mother. Similarly, if my SIL has an issue with something I am doing, she raises it with my husband, who raises it with me.

If the problem is with my father, then my husband raises it with me and I address it with my father. And so forth.

Failing to observe these in-law conventions causes all sorts of trouble.
 
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