Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree, How Cheeply did we Get Thee

This, my friends, is the Adonis of Christmas trees.However...
OUR Christmas tree reminds me more of the one Charlie Brown brought home. (You know, so sickly that when he puts a bauble on it, he exclaims "I've killed it!")
Okay, so it's really not that bad. I guess I'm just used to seeing so many full, fake trees out there that ours pales (or rather thins) in comparison. I make jokes to Joel (it is his year to decorate the tree) that he should wrap his blanket around it to make it stand straight, and that he should wave his hands in front of a doghouse, and then wave them in front of the tree, and ta-dah! Instant, beautiful tree! Unfortunately, our tree isn't quite like Charlie Brown's. In reality, our tree really isn't a Christmas tree at all!
~Ye Olde Origin of The Christmas Tree of the House of Page~
This is the account of how our cheap-o tree came to be. It came about that in this year, the city issued an order that each tree-trimming crew should report to his hometown to clear the telephone poles of branches that could potentially land on the lines in a possible ice storm. Alice Marie fell asleep early one night, and an angel of the Lord appeared to her in a dream. The angel said, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great savings that will be for all your family. Today in the town of Bentley a tree top has been cut, it is a cedar, red. This will be a sign to you: You will find a tree cut nicely and laying in the ditch." Alice Marie woke up, and pondered these things in her heart. The next morning, she informed Steve of the plan. He had in mind to divorce her quietly over such an absurd idea, but at night a city worker appeared to him in a dream saying, "Do not be afraid to take Alice Marie's advice." So the next day, Steve took the branch home as his tree.

Today, my mom and I bought a tree topper for it. Joel was the one chosen to place it on the top, not because he's the tallest in the family, but because he's the most willing to stand on a chair and get poked by sharp branches to shove the topper on. Now, in case I don't have enough Christmas stories tied into my tree blog, it also reminded me of "A Christmas Story" when the dad was like, "That star is crooked!" and then messes with the tree till it falls too far the other way. Unfortunately, this tree is too sharp to mess with much, so my brother put heavy ornaments on the opposite side of the lean to balance it out. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough for this stubborn tree, so he decided that we needed some string to tie it down. Unfortunately, no one wants to spend much time or energy on our sad tree, and since Christmas is only one week away, no one really cares.

So yes, it seems that this year, our thriftiness, resourcefulness, and just plain not-wanting-to-spend-money-on-a-tree-iness, left us with a Christmas Tree like this:
And I'll leave you with one final quote:
"It's really not such a bad old tree... maybe it just needs a little love"

Facebook Drama

On Sunday after church, Tim and I went to the Belsan's house. There was a baby shower going on upstairs, so Tim, Jon, and I were planning on hiding out in the basement. Tim fell asleep, and I figured Jon would too, so I left Tim on the long couch and curled up in a chair. I closed my eyes and waited for sleep to claim me.

The party upstairs was kind of loud. "I didn't realize you were here! I saw your car outside..."
"Yeah, well I had to use the bathroom, and then I was trying to send a text on my cell phone. I can never figure these things out!" (It was followed by abnormally loud, forced laughter.)
I snickered and realized that I wasn't the only one laughing. With my eyes still closed, I talked to Jon (who was awake behind me on the other side of the room) about the Laws of Parties and how when lots of women get together they have to be nice because it's the right thing to do, and they have to smile lots because it's the right thing to do, and they have to laugh loud at every little thing because it makes a more pleasant atmosphere ...and it's the right thing to do.
Jon got out his laptop, so I gave up trying to sleep and sat by him to do some Facebook stalking.

Everyone always talks about how dumb Facebook is because it's all full of drama and people's lives for everyone to see, yet everyone loves to get in on it all, even if it is all a big joke. Anyway, so we found a juicy facebook argument concerning muscles and who can beat up who. It was pretty entertaining.
Later, when Tim was awake and Sarah and Bill were home, we were all laying around upstairs looking at the baby-themed streamers and talking about Facebook. "Sarah? Let's have our OWN Facebook fight." I said. One idea led to another, and now it's totally ON for Wednesday night.

Yes, everyone, I am going to risk my Facebook reputation to create pretend drama for all to see and enjoy. If you've got Facebook, feel free to join in and leave shocked comments.

A Couple Loosely-Related Humorous Happenings

First, a picture to make you jealous of my Thanksgiving break:
Next, a little story:
My mom had recently purchased an antique Masonite board puzzle. (You know, the Playskool toys that have a picture painted on it with a few of the shapes cut out?) It was a basic table setting, and all the objects could be placed in their spots. Tim and I were sitting on the couch, and when I spotted the puzzle (and I use the term loosely) I asked him if he'd like to play with it.
Without waiting for a reply, I began to treat him like a preschooler, teaching him how to set the table. "The plate is placed in the middle. You then put the knife and the spoon to the right, and the fork and napkin to the left. There's a cup of water here, and finally the salt and pepper."
After a moment of silence and a look from Tim, I dumped all the pieces out and said, "Now in Español!" I then proceeded to explain a second time how to set the table. "Se pone el plato aqui." I said. Tim repeated the word for plate, only how an American would. "El plate-O" I ignored him. "Pon la cucharra y el cuchillo a la derecha de el plato."
"El spoon-o... el knife-o..." he repeated in his Nacho Libre accent. He repeated the names of all the objects in his own way after I said each one. "el salt-o... el pepper-o..."
And finally, "se pone la sirvilleta y el tenador a la izquierda." I said, as I put the napkin/fork shaped piece in.
"EL SHANK-O!" Tim said proudly, as he picked up the dagger-shaped puzzle piece and used it to poke me in the gut. The incident made me laugh a little too hard, and recalling it has frequently caused me to smile innappropriately during the wrong occasions ever since.

One such occasion happened the next day in Spanish class. A Mexican kid (who speaks limited Spanish) was confused about the word for "Lake" (which is Lago) "Isn't it 'laguno?" he asked. "No, that means 'Lagoon" the teacher told him. Then quietly, to me, he added, "Oh... so I guess my relatives have been referring to it as "Lagoon Afton" all these years." Knowing how nasty that lake is, it made me laugh pretty hard -No, it made me giggle, which made me think of the last time something was humorous, which made me laugh pretty hard. (hehe... el shank-o...)

Which in turn, caused me to giggle innappropriately in another instance. "You'll never guess what my middle name is!" a girl said to a boy in my art class this morning.
He never guessed. "It starts with an A..." she hinted. "Annie!" I said. "and ends with an N... and it's the name of a lake.." She said, giving it away. "Afton." I said, which was soon followed by an insane low chuckle. I actually managed to get serious and pay attention to the teacher again before realizing what I had just done. I quickly turned back to the girl to appologize. "I really wasn't laughing at your name, honest! It just reminded me of a funny story!." I'm still not sure if she believes me, but at least I tried...