Deck the halls with thriftstore trinkets, fa la la la la, la la la la

I don’t know what the hec is going on, but I am super into the holiday season this year. For the past couple years, Christmas has snuck up on me, and the season passes with me feeling like I didn’t even enjoy it, like it or care to see it go.

Not this year. Uh uh. I’m some crazy mutated version of a Christmas elf.

What is with me!?

Do you get Christmassy when you’re pregnant? I feel like my sudden onset of manic Christmas spirit is some abnormal sign or symptom that I should be reading into, stressing and freaking, and peeing on sticks.

First off, there’s the Christmas movies – I've been watching every bad movie that comes on cable) – and the music – I’ve been listening to it a couple hours each morning to start my day, humming along to my hand-picked Christmas station (thanks once again, Pandora). I even nearly bought (I’ve gone batty), the Sufjan Stevens Christmas CD off Amazon.com, I liked it so much.

I can’t get enough of all the sparkly Christmas lights and decorations either. It’s like my work building, downtown Seattle and my neighborhood have all come alive. I want everywhere I go and everything I see to be sparkling and twinkling in red, white and gold! So, I’ve been dying to get a Christmas tree and decorate my home for the first time since senior year of college. Last night, I was determined to find a tree (even though I have zero money to spend on one since I’m saving all my pennies for the holiday wine party I’m hosting this weekend. Throwing a party is expensive.)

The BF and I stopped off at one of those little parking lot Christmas tree stands last night. I was certain that they’d have little trees for $10 or $20. WRONG. They had crappy, two-foot trees for $25! Yikes. I guess the last time I actually bought a tree was four years ago. Eff inflation. So we continued on to The Goodwill for yet another hunt for an ugly Christmas sweater.

We walked through the front doors and ta da! There was the Christmas tree of my dreams. Ok, maybe not of my dreams. I’ve never really wished for a Goodwill-smelling, leaning tree with ugly, scratched, mismatching ornaments and neon garland, but my imagination could see it taking shape…and the price tag read only $20! The only setback was – it was The Goodwill’s decorated-Christmas-tree centerpiece, and I had to make them take all the ornaments off, so I could load it up in the car.

We were shoving it in my VW Beetle, the metal branches falling off in the parking lot, and the gold tops of ornaments still hanging off the ends of some of the branches, and I totally felt like The Grinch, stealing Whoville’s big Christmas tree the night before Christmas.

“Fah who for-aze! Dah who dor-aze! Welcome Christmas, Christmas Day.”

And here it is in all it's undecorated glory. I think once I get the white
lights and red bulbs on, it'll look fab-U-lous. Picture to come.

Currently Feeling: A little wishy washy about what I want to do tonight. Stay home? Go out? Head to my boyfriend's? Hmmm.
Currently Anticipating: Launching the magazine Web site tomorrow that I've been working hardcore on at work. It's SO pretty!
Currently Loving: Trader Joe's terriyaki-glazed frozen chicken.