Slowly, Slowly

There is slow progress here at casa de cornfields. The list of Christmas insanity is getting done. Kind of. It is nice to know I'm not the only one who does this to herself -- but still. There are interruptions -- both of the runny nose kind (though, it looks like the redness has gone away mostly and I'm not sneezing as much, still coughing up half a lung though) and of the "I really need to have more than an advent calendar hanging up in my house" kind. One of those distractions was much more fun than the other btw.

This is my way of saying we finally go the tree up and decorated on Weds. night. Yes, I did say we bought it on Sunday -- but, well, remember the picture of the ice outside my window? Yeah, that had been around since Saturday or so. So, live tree purchased on Sunday needed a few days in the garage to thaw out before coming inside. But, it's in, it's up, and it's even decorated. (though -- I still need to hunt down the angel for the top)

I have to admit I haven't been all that enthusiastic about Christmas trees the past few years. It has nothing to do with the whole real/artificial debate. (though -- as an aside -- we do cut trees for a reason. The last artificial tree I played with was my mother's and the darned thing gave me hives! Yes, I can actually say I am allergic to artificial trees -- or, well, at least to the dust they collect) It has to do with the fact that since the first year dh and I celebrated Christmas together -- I'm the only one who has seemed to care whether or not we have a tree in the house. And, frankly, after having to beg, plead and/or just do it all myself -- I was getting to wonder whether it was even worth doing. I know, not very Christmasy -- but, there you have it. I figured the holidays are stressful enough without having to add another layer of stuff to do as well as building resentment.

This year? Oh man -- sooooo worth it. See -- this year Miss Tinkerbell is old enough to really be into the whole Christmas thing. And SHE was thrilled that we she had a tree "in her house." Make no mistake -- it is HER tree. I got such a kick watching her excitement, it helped me remember why I love Christmas trees, and the smell of pine, and the whole decorating thing. And of course, she "helped" decorate. (don't tell Tink that these ornaments are Mommy's -- one of the first Christmas presents her Daddy bought for me. Though, I'll let her claim them since she keeps walking up to them and saying "Hello, Clarice" -- and doesn't understand why Daddy and I are cracking up!)

When she found out it was time to decorate the tree? Well -- you know how young puppies get when they are really excited? They kind of shake and vibrate and run around in circles kind of yapping away? Yeah -- um, I didn't know human beings did that too. 'Cause she kept on saying "My Christmas Tree" and running from the kitchen into the living room and back again until she was able to dig into the boxes of ornaments. And then there was the fun of trying to explain that no, not ALL of the ornaments in the boxes would fit on the tree. The bulbs I bought when I didn't have many ornaments have given way to all of the "specialty" ornaments I've collected over the years.

My tree may not look as put together as others out there -- but all of the ornaments have memories. I like it that way -- it doesn't match, and not all of them may seem seasonally appropriate (hey -- the Halloween one was an engagement gift -- we got engaged on Halloween night, so it seems appropriate that we have this one on our tree every year), but they are all special. I can give up some glass balls for those kinds of memories.

And just so this post isn't devoid of anything crafty -- yes, there are the homemade kind on there too. A lollipop made out of polymer clay I made a few years ago and a cinnamon stick Santa -- made almost 10 years ago now. Both fun to do -- but, really, I'm just waiting until Miss Tinkerbell's handiwork is on the tree. And I'm loving watching her be so excited about a pine tree, some lights and a box full of memories!

I do have progress on the list, but this post is way too long as it is (really -- I can blather on about things!). So, I'll do a separate crafty post about the progress made.