Mishaps

Today was almost the day that Christmas came to life in the Gillum home. And, in certain ways, it did. For example- mom and I spent a good part of this morning painting packages to go under the tree, and we listened to Christmas music (one can never have too much) practically the entire day.

However, the entire day was building up to the one big event that officially means that Christmas season is HERE: the putting up and decorating of the Christmas tree. It's a must-do, right? Every year, the guys put up the tree, and then we all prance and dance around in our PJs (okay, so maybe the prancing and dancing is left to Mom and I) while listening to Christmas classics and covering the tree with ornaments and ribbon.

Here's the thing...Yeah, didn't happen. Something was wrong or messed up or broken about our (fake) tree this year (or maybe it was the base?). Anyway, the guys- after lots of trial and error- eventually came to the conclusion that they were doomed and called it quits. Needless to say, the dancing, prancing, PJs, music, and decorating never quite became a reality.

It looks as though, if we want to put a tree up, we're going to have to buy a new one, which is a bummer. Something tells me that if we do fix our little tree problem, it will be with another fake one. We've tried that whole "real tree" business... and I've gotta admit, I loved the whole experience of going to the farm, drinking hot chocolate, going on a hayride, and eventually picking out just the right tree. But once we eventually got that sucker into our living room... yeah, it fell. Over and over and over- resulting in broken ornaments and hearts.

Or maybe the Gillums are just doomed when it comes to Christmas trees, at least for this year. If that's the case, I'm cool with that. All is well. Christmas is magic, with or without a tree.

Today has been a good one. I didn't get dressed and ready until about 5 pm... so very joyful. The hours leading up to that consisted of Photoshop (I've been editing the senior session that I did with my friend Scott), Timothy whom I'm fond of, and a newly brunette Katie (she has been a bleach blonde for almost as long as I've known her!).

 Once I finally got out of my pajamas and into jeans, our family headed out- along with Christian's friend Drew, Mimi, and Tim's family- to Hot Springs. We ate dinner at a lovely place called the Bleu Monkey Grill, and then wandered around downtown for a bit- Tim and I even joined in on some ballroom dancing at the gorgeous Arlington Hotel!

If you think about it, say a prayer for my sweet grandmother (Mimi). She tripped on a curb while we were walking around downtown tonight, and took a pretty hard fall. Luckily, she wasn't seriously injured, but she did bust her lip and lose most of one of her front teeth. I know that she was really shaken by it- I hate to see that kind of thing happen to her sweet self!

So, aside from a few unfortunate events, it's been a fabulous day. I love spending time at home, with no homework and nothing to worry about other than what color to paint the next Christmas package. And, despite our total and complete lack of tree (or any holiday decor for that matter), I'm still finding myself in the Christmas spirit. What can I say? There's no holding it down!

-clg