'Tis the Season

This year we bucked tradition and bought a Christmas tree.  I've loved the straggly natural trees we've found the past few years on my parents' land, but the time and opportunity hasn't availed itself to me, so I paid $20.99 for my tree this year.

I know $20.99 is a good deal for a tree around here, I saw at Walmart they're selling them for $24.98 plus tax, and here on campus, they've got them from $15 - $35. My sister Sarah always goes out and cuts down a tree with her family at Piper Mountain (check out a cool article about them), and I think it's somewhere in the $30 range.

When we lived in Anchorage, it was, unsurprisingly, a lot more expensive to buy a tree, we paid over $40 for a tree that was around 4 1/2 feet tall (we set it on a little end table which was quite cute), but nothing beats the facebook post I saw from a friend in California this weekend.  She showed a picture of her wife and son, with the nice, but somewhat skinny 8-foot tree they'd chosen behind them, then stated that when they'd found out the tree cost $175, they decided to look elsewhere.  Seriously - $175 for a tree??? Not a diamond studded tree? Not a tree that produces fossil fuels? Not a living tree, but one that's in a lot dying its slow death? Not cool.

I feel even better about my $20.99 now.  And, I have to say I think it's beautiful.  This is a picture of it fully decorated, it's not actually tilted, nor is it fuzzy, I took this with my old school cell phone (circa a wicked long time ago), but you get the idea.

Merry Christmas!!!!

2011 Brainerd Family Tree

Thanksgiving Recovery

I've been sitting in this recliner for an indecent number of hours - occasionally getting up to serve myself some more pumpkin pie, or to make what I refer to as "turkey slop," (turkey slop recipe: Combine a handful of turkey, a couple of scoops each of gravy, stuffing, and mashed potatoes - heat on medium-high until it steams and is awesomely mushy and delicious) - I even had a bagel sometime in there.  It's been AWESOME.

Thanksgiving is great because it's all about the food.  Normally I'm as excited about Black Friday as I am about Thanksgiving, but as I have explained previously, I'm not doing big shopping this year.  But I have done some serious imaginary shopping in the past 24 hours!! 

Diane, a friend of Mom & Jeanne's, came to Thanksgiving dinner and brought her paper, chock full o' store flyers.  Were you aware that Walmart had Kitchenaid stand mixers for $150!?!?  Granted, I already have one, and I got it on super sale at Kohl's a couple of years ago for $99, but I tell you - if I were upper middle class instead of on the lower end of it, I'd be on top of that.  Why would I need two mixers you ask? Because they're fabulous and it's such a deal. 

Imagine how much of a hoarder I'd be if I were rich!!!

I had a few more near-seizures looking through the flyers.  But, somehow managed to stay in my pajamas all day watching Christmas movies.  A good time was had by all - well, specifically a good time was had by me.

Today we watched Surviving Christmas, I think Mom and I are the only people in the country (maybe aside from Ben Affleck's mom) who love that movie.  The fact is that a movie has to be REALLY bad before I'll say I don't like it.  I don't know that I've ever met a movie that sucked so badly I was unwilling to power through it (do you hear that makers of 'Vanity Fair'??? I watched your whole godforsaken film - what felt like about seventeen hours I'll never get back).  We also watched a two-episode Christmas Little House on the Prairie dvd, and 'Holiday in Handcuffs' - a delightful ABC Family made-for-TV lovely flick.

My fingers are crossed that we'll be able to find Mom's copy of 'Scrooged' tomorrow when we dig out the ornaments.  I don't know if Azi has ever seen it, and I know I haven't in a couple of years.  Probably someone should buy it for me as well.

Tomorrow we're off to the woods to chop down ye olde Christmas Tree.  Last year we tromped around Dad's property in Howland to find our tree - this year it'll be on the banks of Cain's Pond.  Cross your fingers that we find the PERFECT tree (at least let it be more like Charlie Brown's tree AFTER the application of the magic ornaments than before when it only had a few branches) - last year we had to triple up ornaments on some branches. 

People who live on the other side of the foreclosed house next door

I don't like you. Yes, I mean you - people who live on the other side of the foreclosed house next door.

It's not because the only time I ever see an adult on your porch, they're busy yelling at the litters of children you have running around shoeless in the driveway (believe me, if those were my kids - I'd be yelling too)

It's not because when it rains, you have your kids put on their swimsuits to go and play in the motor oil and mud puddles in the driveway (hell, it looks pretty fun)

It's not because you have tons of garbage & debris heaped around your porch and front yard (who am I to complain, I'm not the world's tidiest girl by any means)

But there is a reason I don't like you - and this is it:
On Christmas Day, I was driving over to my sister's house for dinner at 3:00 pm - and you had your undecorated Christmas tree sitting out in a snowbank.

Seriously people, what's up with that? I can ignore everything else - I don't really care - but what was sooooooooo important that it couldn't wait until at LEAST the day after Christmas? Do you have pine needle allergies? Well - buy a fake tree!!! Was the tree too dried out? It surely didn't look it to me, and maybe you should water it more next year.

Whatever your reason is - I can tell you flat out - it's not good enough. And from now on, just know you have a new nemesis on Parkview Avenue.

O Christmas Tree - O Christmas Tree

I am a big fan of Christmas. I'm into all Christmas-related items and activities. I enjoy shopping and decorating, baking - all of it is gold to me. It's become a tradition of mine to go and get my Christmas Tree the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Yesterday I dutifully went to an ATM and got cash out. I'd already called around for prices (the lowest anywhere is $25 - which is a sure sign of inflation if you ask me). I stopped where I guy had a whole bunch of trees set up in a parking lot, and was going to go back there (he's a local guy, seemed to make sense) - but then I saw that they had a bunch of trees at the Blue Seal store. We picked the skinniest tree we could find - not that I don't love big, full trees - it's just that the spot we have for the tree is near the doorway into the kitchen and a full tree could keep us from being able to get in there.

Yes - we got a skinny tree. When I got it home, I noticed that some of the branches at the bottom of the tree had been broken when it was bundled up (the tree was bundled with rope when we bought it), and that alarmed me a bit, but you have to cut the bottom off the tree in order to let it get water, so I didn't think much of it.

I stood it up in the stand and screwed it in while Azi held it straight, then she cut the rope, and immediately all sorts of branches started falling off. Apparently when they packaged our tree, they weren't very gentle with it - hell, maybe it fell off the truck or something. I decided that it's just a plus, because we've got to have the tree against the back window, and the huge bald spot actually gives it a nice, flush fit against the wall.

However, today it was bugging me a bit that the tree was so very obviously sub-par - so I called Blue Seal - I just wanted to voice my concerns and let them know they ought to check the other trees - the fact is that they're paying for those trees from somewhere and are getting a pretty shite deal. The lovely woman at Blue Seal offered me a partial discount on my tree - and when I stopped by at lunch time she gave me 1/3 of my money back - none too shabby!!

I also had to return some items to Penney's today. I spent a weeeeeeeeee bit too much money there on Friday when I was sleep deprived and debit-card happy - tsk tsk tsk.

The most important thing I did this weekend was to take this AWESOME picture of our cat Acie. She is apparently not a big fan of Christmas or hats.

Wrapping Paper and Christmas Dinner

I love wrapping paper. In fact, I love wrapping paper so much that when Azi and I go shopping and we come upon a holiday paper display, she takes me by the hand (none too gently) and pulls me in another direction. Unfortunately, the internet has provided me with plenty of websites to keep me in wrapping paper for decades to come - check this out.





Maybe I should go to therapy to treat my wrapping paper addiction - I probably have enough rolls to wrap gifts for the next twenty-to-thirty years - I just can't help myself - it's all soooooo beautiful. Maybe I should get a new hobby. But when it comes time to wrap all my Christmas presents and I have dozens and dozens of choices - that makes me smile; and when I see all those beautiful packages under the tree - I smile a little more (my cheeks hurt a lot in December). I told Faith while she was visiting that the best present anyone could give me would be a big box full of wrapping paper (beautifully wrapped up, of course). I've already bought a few presents and am resisting the urge to wrap them before we get the tree - I want to do a whole big weekend around it.


Speaking of Christmas, I'm going to do a big family dinner at our new place. Conni, Dan and their kiddos will all be in Florida, and in all honesty, I'm pretty sure the whole family wouldn't fit in our house at one time -but I think I can squish Mom, Dad, Jeanne and Sarah's crew in. I can't WAIT to roast a turkey and do all the fixings. It'll be my first time hosting the holiday dinner. How very special!! I've already started looking for interesting recipes online - I got a recipe for artichoke puffs that sound super yummy. I'll probably do as much of it as I can on Christmas Eve when Azi goes to bed - we'll see!! I'll enlist Dad's help too, of course.

I shall keep all of my rabid readers (that would you be you, Sara) informed on my culinary decisions.