tree's.up

I got my tree today. It's very exciting...really. It's perfect- a good shape, good size (it's not shrimpy, but will still fit through the window when I have to shove it out), and it smells good. You'd think that any real christmas tree would smell good, but I had one once that didn't smell at all. I think that half the point of having a tree is so you can come home and feel all warm and snuggly when you smell it, so you can imagine my disappointment. Anyway...I spent the last three and a half hours decorating it and then wrapping presents so I'd have something to put under it. I started to count how many ornaments I have (as I try to do every year) but forgot that I was counting after 36 or so. I'd guess that I have around 400. I love hanging ornaments- as my mom always says she does- because you get to remember where they came from. To clarify, I don't have one of those designer trees with coordinated ornaments, bows, etc., nor would I want one. My tree starts off with white lights, and is literally covered with ornaments I've accumulated over the past 28 years. I started my life off with many that were given to me (and often made) by grandparents, relatives, friends of my parents, etc. Then I moved onto the ones I made myself at happy hours (my nursury school) that consist of glittery pinecones, gold painted cardstock with pasta glued on, colored dough ornaments, and my favorite, oscar the grouch. There's the group from my parents, who give each of us an ornament every year that has to do with what we're interested in (so I have a couple pianos, a soccer player, a caggabe patch doll, a ballerina, etc), and there's the group from my christmas dinner parties where we do an ornament exchange. So it all adds up to quite a collection that I look forward to putting up every year. Here's me putting the lights on.