Gift giving is also hard...

Gift giving is also hard when you're trying not to shop.

My father's birthday was February 23rd. For Christmas, I gave him two nice sweaters and a giftcard for Sam's Club. Oh, and a tin of handmade chocolate dipped Oreos. And was whined at because the gift didn't live up to his expectations. Usually, I buy my dad something weird or fancy. Last Christmas, though, we had just moved to New Jersey, I didn't have a job, and I didn't even have a car most of the time.

And did I mention that my mother was visiting when he called to say thanks and whine at me? Like I wasn't already stressed enough...

Because of these high expectations, I'd been looking for months trying to figure out what to send him. Nothing seemed right. Or something seemed really cool, but was about 10 times my budget. It was a pisser.

Finally, I decided to just send a big box of handmade treats. I figure I can try again on Father's Day.

I ended up sending Man-Catcher Brownies. And OMG, they are the best damn brownie ever. The day he received the box, he called and said, "Did you make these!?!" No hello or how are you, just, "Did you make these!?!"

I think they were a hit.