Christmas Tree

I am not anal retentive about much in my life, I wish I were. But the one thing I will admit I am anal about is my Christmas tree. I do it a certain way, in a certain order, only certain things on it, and through out the month of December, I tweak it, always moving an ornament here or there, moving a string of beads up or down. And it has a theme, angels. No other ornaments on it but angels. It was the way I was raised, our tree always had a theme. There is a right way to decorate it, lights first, only white lights, put up and down the tree, not around it. Then balls on the back of the branches which reflect the lights. My mom uses red, I use gold. Then the garland, mom uses wooden beads, I use gold. Then the ornaments, then ribbon going up and down. Last of course is the topper, mine being an angel obviously. There have been a few years where I didn't put the tree up because I knew mentally I couldn't handle the stress I put on myself to have the tree perfect because of how old my kids were at the time.
So, we put the tree up yesterday, and sadly for me, my kids wanted to help for the first time. Cooper did a great job putting the tree together, then he lost interest with the lights, then picked up interest again with the ornaments. So I had to go behind him secretly and move them where I wanted them to go. Then it dawned on me to let him decorate the boys' tree. Yes, I am not a horribly mean mother, they do have their own 4 foot tree with all of their ornaments on it. So he and Jason decorated their tree while I finished mine in peace. This year I added color to mine, it has always been just gold or clear ornaments. But I broke out of my shell and added red and gold ribbon and I absolutely adore it. I don't like the top. I need a big bow and I am not a bow maker. But hopefully by Christmas I will find a friend who can make me one. So here are pictures of the tree decorating process. I did not include pictures of the rest of the downstairs which is covered in boxes and paper.

Tapestry Dinner

What is a Tapestry Dinner, you ask. Well, personally, I just think its an excuse for the older ladies at our church to break out their china and show it off. But its a dinner we have in November, ladies only, where hostesses decorate their tables in different ways, and we enjoy a good dinner and some kind of entertainment. So last year I was kind of forced to go for the first time, and once I got over the shock of how much these ladies put into decorating their tables, I really enjoyed myself. So for some strange reason, I volunteered this year to be a hostess. I begin to look around at what I could decorate with, and realized I could decorate two or three tables with all of the blue and white china things I have, so there was my theme. We have to provide our own china and glassware and flatware too, however. My china was covered. When I got married 11 years ago I again was forced into registering for china (I have a hard time saying no to people). I didn't think I needed it, it seemed a waste to me. So I figured that if I received a few place settings I would return them for credit, but my dad bought half the settings and my grandfather the other half, so there is my china. I used it for the first time last Christmas. So this was the second time to use it. I still love it, so that's good. But I realized I only had 4 settings of flatware, and no linens. So Mom to the rescue. I invited her to come down with a trunk load of her stuff to help me out. Did I mention she used to cater, and also has all of my grandmother's things, so she has enough to decorate 5 tables of her own?
We had a great time! And I have to admit that our table turned out beautifully. Lots of people said so. Even yesterday I had a lady stop me at church and tell me that her daughter's favorite table was mine because it was elegant, and pretty, but not over the top. We took way too much up to church to decorate with, the tables aren't as big as they look when they are empty. And two tops to teapots broke in the transporting, but nothing that superglue couldn't fix, just don't look too close. We had great company at our table, it was fun to introduce some of my good friends to my mom. So here is a picture of my table. It doesn't do it justice.

Funny Story and Pick of the Week

Funny story first since I know that is more interesting. Friday morning Jason and I are going to Cooper's school to help with their Harvest Festival, so I needed a sitter for Cade. So a week ago I arranged a play date with a friend who has 3 year old triplets. I saw her this morning and she gave me directions to her house, so we are all set. Tonight I found the sheet that reminds us about the Festival while I was cleaning up my kitchen since my mom is coming... yes, my mom is coming for a few days. So yes, therefore, she will be at my house on Friday morning to keep Cade. She is coming to help me decorate for this dinner at church tomorrow night, and I guess I just compartmentalized the two events and it never crossed my mind that she would be here on Friday to keep Cade. Maybe its not that funny to you, but my friend laughed hysterically when I called to cancel the playdate. Maybe my excuse is that I have a cold and the lack of oxygen to the brain caused it? Maybe?

Ok, pick of the week. I go through stages where I'm really into using coupons, and I'm in the stage now, so I found a great website that gives you access to tons of coupons. Of course when I went to use it tonight, my printer that has said for 6 weeks its low on black ink, finally ran out. Of course! The website is www.wow-coupons.com. Enjoy.