End of November

Thoughts for today at the end of November:

How is it already the end of November? How can it already be time to make cookies, address holiday cards, and begin Christmas shopping?

On this note, let me please address the topic of real Christmas trees versus fake Christmas trees. I grew up in a house where the only fake Christmas tree was the ceramic one on the dining room table. It was a tradition in my family. Everyone had their own on a "buffett" or mantle somewhere in the home. But when it came to presents under the Christmas Tree, that tree was always a real one.

I remember my Dad taking us to Hechingers to find the cheapest tree with the most branches. This seemed to take hours. Hours of looking at all the people taking away huge, full trees, while we were left to pick amongst the Charlie Browns. Luckily, we had alot of ornaments to fill the gaping holes, thanks to our neighbor who hand made us a new set each year.

I also remember when my Aunt Ida, Aunt Ann, and Nana would arrive early with stale popcorn and cranberries, and we'd string them up to drape on the branches. I couldn't resist eating the popcorn in between sticking myself with the needle, even though it tasted like a cardboard box.

When I was a teenager, we moved to the country. Hechinger's closed and we were forced to look elsewhere for our annual Christmas tree. Luckily, my father's tastes improved, and our house was soon adorned with the same substantial tree I remember envying years before. The ornaments each finally had their own branch. They were happy.

Now, I have my own tree. Unfortunetly, I live in a suburban apartment. That means, every year, I remove the tree box from the closet, pull out all the scratchy branches, and assemble them to form a tree shape. This also involves sculpting the branches to look like a natural pine tree. From the parking lot, our tree shines in the window like a beacon for our complex. But, I know it's not an authentic Christmas tree.

I realize some people love the convenience of their artificial tree. And, there is something charming about the sparkly white and pink trees you can buy for your kitchen. But, a living room with presents under the fiber optic tree will never feel as warm and inviting as a tree that smells like pine, even if you have to put two hundred ornaments on it to fill all the gaping holes.

So, Dad, if you read this.....maybe this year we could rescue one of those old scrawny trees. We were the only people who ever bought them anyway.

How Harry Potter can help

Today, I was in a meeting, being accused of something I didn't say. So, I imagined a magic wand being put up to my temple and pulled those things you were saying out of my mind and into an imaginary pensieve. Just like Dumbledore did in the Harry Potter movie. I hope you look into it and see that you were being a jerk.

I've been memed

My new friend Paige just memed me.....so I'm responding like I guess I should

5 Things

10 years ago – I was in Baltimore attending the College of Notre Dame of Maryland. I wore patchouli every day. My favorite class was painting. My roomate's name was Kelly and I miss her every day.

8 years ago – I went to Maine for a hippie show. We picked up some really nice hitchhikers in Vermont and hung out with them all day. I was the props mistress for Into the Woods. I made birds out of pillowcases. I worked at Living Classrooms in Fells Point on a skipjack named the Minnie V.

4-7 years ago – Living with my almost husband and working at a small environmental firm I actually liked. 7 years ago, going through my quarter life crisis and drinking lots of vodka and guiness. Living with my friend who had a halloween movie snowglobe w/ blood in it instead of snow
2 years ago - Got married and had the best wedding ever where people were drinking cocktails before the cermony. Best wedding ever. Honeymooned out west amongst our great national parks. Best time ever.

Five yummy things: Pizza, cupcakes, breakfast at the blue moon, anything at friends, my dad's homegrown potatoes (they won 1st place at the Harford County Farm Fair)

Five songs I know by heart: Cornflake Girl (Tori Amos), American Pie (Don Mclean), Somwhere over the Rainbow (Wizard of Oz), Tangerine (Led Zepplin), Who Rocks the Party? (Les Savy Fav). (Those were the 1st 5 that came to mind)

Five things I would do with a lot of money: move to Chicago, travel, pay off my relative's debts, give a shitload of money to NARAL and Planned Parenthood, start on the master plan

Five places I would to escape to: London, Chicago, Costa Rica, my parents' house in the country, Bryce Canyon National Park

Five things I would never wear: sandals with socks, scrunchies, pleated pants, braided leather belts, uggs

Five favorite TV shows: Lost, Twin Peaks, Freaks and Geeks, The Family Guy, The Simpsons

Five things I enjoy doing: drinking Guiness with Friends, going to rock shows, road trips with husband and friends, acting silly with my husband, knitting and painting

Five Favorite toys: PS2 (specifically my Katamari Damacy game), my snowglobe collection, my Hello Kitty stuff, My dancing house, my vinyl

Five people who get this meme:Paige, Meredith, Chris, Jason, Andy

last night

Last night, I went to painting class. Upon my leaving, a car was parked suspiciously close to my own. I asked the owner if they wouldn't mind pulling forward a tad so that I could exit my space with ease. The girl started shaking and telling me about the horrible week she's had, all with breath smelling like an empty bottle of cheap vodka. She was giving her 2 friends a jump, and couldn't I just squeeze out of the spot?

I considered reporting her drunken state, but didn't.

I feel pretty bad about that, so I hope she didn't kill anyone on the way home.

First post

First post...more to come.