Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

Finally! This year, we got a new tree. Well, not brand new, but new to us. When we got married, almost 7 years ago, my husband and I went out and picked out a tree that was economical (code for SMALL) and had colored lights. This was when we were first married and I was a little more easily persuaded. I never have been a huge fan of colored lights. They are fine - other people decorate with them and they look nice. I just don't like them on MY tree. For the last 2 or 3 years, I have been begging for a new tree. And, Carson says, "Let's wait until after Christmas. They'll go on sale. We'll get a great deal." And, I agree. The problem is, we NEVER go out and get that new tree.

So, I lived with this dinky little colored light tree for the last 6 Christmases. Now, can I also add that the little tree has been through 3 moves and 1 basement finishing. So, when we brought it up this year, it was sadder looking than usual. The majority of the lights didn't work and it was just plain pathetic. I could have sworn it was drug behind a vehicle for a couple of miles and then plopped into our living room. Yuck!

As luck would have it, I was talking to my cousin about this and she said they were actually trying to sell a tree on craigslist. But, it wasn't pre-lit. The thing is, that's exactly what I wanted! And, she said it was about 9 feet tall - A perfect fit!

I brought it home and it came in one of those nice Christmas tree bags - fabulous. A sure-fire way to store our new tree and keep it nice. We unzipped the bag and began pulling out branches. It's one of those trees that had color coded branches that you have to put one by one into the frame. No biggie. My grandma had one and I had put that together before. Carson continued to pull branches out of the bag. And pull. And pull. And pull. It was kind of like that scene in Mary Poppins where she has her carpet bag and keeps pulling things out that could never have really fit in there.

Once the bag was empty, we stood amongst the strewn about branches. Time to get to work. I started with the first layer and by about the third layer, I was beginning to see what a monster of a tree this was going to be. Carson made some crack about how this was like the Griswold family Christmas Tree - you know where Chevy Chase cuts the rope from holding the branches down and they all shoot out through the windows.

The next night, I finished putting the tree together and put the white lights on. It was totally worth it and, to make a long story long, I have my tree... It needs some finishing touches.