I know that we made some important decisions about our Christmas lights last year.  There were some critical changes that we were going to make this year.  We had a plan.  Not sure what it was now-but I am certain it was good.  Has that ever happened to you?

As soon as it is dry and I am fairly sure he will not slip and fall, I send my husband up on the roof. Sunday turned out to be a perfect day.  In the end, we decided to simplify this year.  I love the look of these bulb lights.  When you use light clips you can get an almost perfect line with perfect spacing.  {I am an “all white lights” kind of girl inside, but I splash out out with red bulbs on the house.} I spent most of my afternoon up a tree.  Methodically, I wrapped hundreds of white lights around the limbs of our Japanese Maple.  Risking my life, numerous times, to get a strand just a little bit higher.  The pay off is totally worth the risk.

The Christmas train has left the station and I am joyfully on board.  Don’t let it run you over.  Just take small steps and find the joy of the season. Make a plan. 

What is the first thing on your to do list?

Pumpkins are still the #1 decoration for a few more days.  I am crazy about chevron stripes and could not resist this project!

Grab a pumpkin.  Make a pattern of chevron stripes with masking tape or painters’ tape.  Paint entire pumpkin with white spray paint.  [I used Krylon Flat White.]

Fun, right? 

The pressure is on.  Time to pick a picture and theme and get my holiday cards ordered.  Each and every year, November arrives and I scramble.  We have a few requirements in our home for the picture that we choose:

1.  It MUST include all 4 of us.  [My husband stands firm on this one.]
2.
3.

Wait, I guess that is just one one requirement.  Easier said than done. How many of you get to the end of a calendar year and have yet to take one picture that included your entire family?  I was so desperate a few years ago I bought $1 Santa hats, put my camera on self-timer and posed us in front of the fireplace.  Not our best picture.  Professional shots are the easiest, but we only have those done every few years or so. 

Last year we were crazy enough to go indoor skydiving and I had a bystander snap a quick picture.  In the end, it was the picture that summed up our year.  [Oh! What fun!]

What I love the most about our card in 2012 was that is was TOTALLY us!  It is completely freeing to give up on the idea of the “perfect” family picture, for the “perfect” holiday card. Who’s perfect anyway?  Perfect is boring.   We didn’t sky dive this year, so our picture won’t be quite so awesome.  Nonetheless, I do have one of all four of us-so I am on to step 2.

{PS.  I love everything about the upcoming holiday, including the cards! If I didn’t find enjoyment in the process-I wouldn’t do it.  My thought: if it doesn’t feed you in some way, shape or form, DO NOT do it.}

The little lies we tell ourselves…daily. 

Hey, why not write ’em down, make ’em pretty, and frame it.  How brilliant?  Check out the rest @ Daily Dishonesty.