Christmas is only four days away. It seems like a lifetime ago when being this close to Christmas felt like being on the threshold of heaven's gates. Does that feeling come back when you have kids of your own?

I do enjoy watching my niece open gifts. Actually, I enjoy teasing her along with her uncle and dad before we open presents. It's a joy only an adult can know. The looks Laura sneaks at the tree start the second she enters Nana and Grandpa's house. She barely gets her obligatory hugs in before she stands by the tree pretending to look at ornaments. The part of dinner that turns from eating and complementing Mom to lingering and grabbing a small helping of this and another bite of that is when the serious case of antsy strikes Laura. She is SO helpful at the end of the meal; rather she is helpful at trying to usher in the end of the meal because she knows we can't open presents with dirty dishes in the kitchen. "Are you done? Can I take your plate?" "Nana, where does this go?" "Mom, can you wash this off so it can go in the dishwasher?"
Ah, that's the best part of Christmas. I hope she likes the Cabbage Patch Doll we got her for Christmas. I can' believe they are back. So are My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake and Easybake Ovens! I'd much rather my niece play with a Cabbage Patch Doll than one of those Bratz dolls. How scary are those things? Those Bratz look like slutty little tramps. Gag.

We at least decorated our house this year for Christmas. Last year we didn't do a thing as we moved in and immediately left on vacation and got back days before Christmas. We got a Douglas Fir this year. It's a tad on the big side. We measured the space where it was going to go before we picked one out ~ we just went to the maximum size. And, being a full bushy tree makes the fit seem that much more snug. Ryan put indoor/outdoor LED lights on the tree. It's his job to put the lights on because when I put them on the tree I get angry and start swearing and ruin the festive spirit and Ryan has to bail me out anyway. He's the engineer so he can place the lights and I place the ornaments. But I digress. Indoor slash OUTDOOR lights on a tree. Can you say ugly? Did I mention they are the big bulbs? On the outside of the house they make it look like a gingerbread house, on the tree they make it look tacky. Ryan was so disgusted with my whining about our ugly tree that he offered to buy new lights and to re-decorate the tree. I told him no thanks; I enjoy telling people about our ugly tree. Those big lights on a tree bring back memories of some neighbors who put the big bulbs on their trees. They were hippies and smoked pot and lived in a dark house. Now when I see our tree I see hippies and pot.

Merry Christmas!