Wednesday, November 26

Easily Impressed, but We'll Raise That Bar

If you have recently dropped in on our special brand of crazy, you may not know just how much of a Christmas freak I am. I like lights. A lot of lights. A LOTTA LOTTA lights. And trees. Oh, how I love me some Christmas trees. I love me five Christmas trees these days, and fully intend to love me more when we eventually move. One for every room, baby.

In order to accommodate my crazy, I usually start decorating shortly after Halloween. I catch a lot of crap about it, but there is simply no way to get everything up in one or two days. I need a few weeks at MINIMUM, and since we go out of town the week of Thanksgiving, in my perfect world everything is done before we go so that I can flip the switch on it all as soon as we get back.

This year, however, has been out of control. I'm soooooo far behind. In fact, when it became obvious that I was so behind that our household Light Up Night was going to have to be sometime in February, I decided to take a day off from work especially to put up lights out in the yard. Monday was the big day, and I woke up bright and early, threw on some junk clothes, and headed out.

Then quickly remembered that Mother Nature HATES me.

You know how I've been crying about the lack of snow? Um, yeah. I'm STILL crying about the lack of snow. I am open to two options when it comes to the weather on Christmas light days--it can be freezing cold and snowing (if it's going to be cold, I demand snow) or it can be 70 and sunny. There is no option for 40 and raining. NO OPTION.

And yet, that's exactly what I got. It rained and rained and rained all day Monday. You know what goes really well with electricity? Water. I would tell you how many times I got a nice little jolt of power through my rain-soaked gloves, but I have no idea how many times it happened. I think I lost the ability to count past ten right around the 8th shock. Or maybe it was the 9th. It was definitely before the rain managed to soak it's way all the way through my jeans.

I managed to put up about 5000 lights total, which is nowhere near where I need to be. I'm not sure how I'm going to find time to finish, but I can guarantee I will because when Alexis came home and saw the sad little light display she said, "Momma, it's so bootyful! LOOKY!" and stood in the yard for over ten minutes just marveling at the pretty lights.

Girl, you ain't seen nothing yet, but you will.

18 comments:

  1. Ummm...holy feck?? I just looked at the links to your trees and your outdoor lights. You are crazy! We have a street here called Candy Cane Lane (you totally need to live on one apparently) and you put most of those folks to shame. Can I find a link for you...let me see.

    http://denhartigh.dyndns.org/~keesdenhartigh/cclane/photos.html

    Yeah, you totally put them to shame.

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  2. Anonymous5:37 AM

    We don't do much outdoor lighting. Probably because it doesn't get dark till like 10pm now that we have Daylight Savings...

    You and me girl, we are soul sistas. I decorate my trees in a couple of days, but my house is nearly done!

    W00T!!

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  3. wow... You ARE impressive...

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  4. Don't even get me started on this weather we've been having! I think you are crazy, but it's a good crazy at least. Who could be depressed with all the lights and trees in your house. Maybe I should move in until, say, April, when the sun returns.

    Happy Thanksgiving!

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  5. I love how each of your trees is "your favorite".
    I want to know - how do you store your ornaments? In their original boxes? We used to do that, but then got one of those ornament boxes - and oh my gosh - does that cut down on the time it takes to put up and take down the tree! (And yes, we only have ONE).

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  6. I can't wait to see the pictures. Sometime tomorrow, I'll have hubby out in the garage, finding and bringing in the boxes of decorations.

    peace - D

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  7. Happy Thanksgiving, Burgh Baby family! I, too, love lots of lights; there is no such thing as too many lights--so, you go, girl, with the lights!

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  8. I have to wonder at your poor, Scroogy neighbors. Their house is nothing. Literally.

    And your matching PJ's always make me smile.

    We won't discuss the bling. I'm frustrated that mine aren't up and won't be until next week.

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  9. Santa will have no problem spotting you from miles above. Cheater.

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  10. Anonymous1:18 PM

    I love all the lights and the trees, and because of all the pictures you posted last year, I have gotten my behind in order and am decorating to the max this year (well, as much as my checking account will allow!) Hubby is nearly done with our lights, but I have gotten so anxious I have been turning them on anyway . . . my neighbors caved to the peer pressure and have all turned theirs on as well. Happy Holidays!

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  11. It's been raining here for the last few days and melted all our snow away. :o(

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  12. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! =)

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  13. So I'm just gonna call you Clark Grizwald during the holidays. Is that cool?

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  14. Anonymous12:00 AM

    I cannot wait to show you the neighbors - considering they just put up a Santa & sleigh that literally moves. It's insanity in suburbia, I tell you.

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  15. Anonymous9:13 PM

    First? I'm officially frightened of you, because I'd never seen those links before.

    Second? Alexis looks exactly like you upside down. It's the freaking weirdest thing ever. I thought she ressembled you a little bit, but upside down? She could be your clone.

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  16. That's so effing hawt. You GOTTA keep adding. This time next year I hope to have some flamingos wearing Santa hats and a giant inflatable snow globe.

    You want to know how much the Vanillas suck? They wanted to cop out and put up a 2 foot Christmas tree on top of their piano. A 2 foot, fake Christmas tree. Instead of a full-sized tree.

    Incidentally, they're fake tree people (which I think is a cop out, too), but damnit a 7.5 foot fake tree is better than a 2 foot fake one. I'm making them put up the full-sized tree.

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  17. So sorry that mother nature hates you :( :( If you were here you'd know that Mother nature hates us all.

    Love that Alexis was impressed in spite of it!

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