ode to my Christmas tree

I just finished packing all my Christmas things up for another year. :( Sad!
But, I need to compliment my Christmas tree for turning out so awesome-- and myself for decorating it! hehe! This tree is by far my favorite of the last five years. I used browns and golds this year with pheasant feathers and LOVED how it turned out. I try to use a different theme and color each year. I've had a baby blue tree, a red one, a gold one, and last year was purple, hot pink, lime green and blue.
On an unrealted note-- I'm super bad at blogging, it turns out. The last thing I want to do when I get home at night is sit in front of the computer. And, lately we've been so busy running around that I don't have time even on my days off. Grrrrrr. I'm hoping that January brings a few boring weekends so I can catch up on some things.

Chrsitmas tree shopping-- ALONE!

So, tomorrow I will experience shopping for a Christmas tree alone! Mike is going hunting for the weekend and won't be back until Monday night. This is the weekend we always get our Christmas tree, so in the spirit of Christmas tradition, I'm going alone. Actually, I take that back-- I won't be all alone. I'm going with my mom and dad when they go. That way I won't have to crawl on the ground and chop the tree down myself.
But, the process that concerns me is putting it in the stand when I get home, and even taking the tree out of the truck and carrying it inside. Will it be too heavy and awkward for me? Will I drop it and trip on it and land on a pile of prickly needles and come up cursing mad? Very probable! I've never had to put up a Christmas tree by myself. I've always had Mike to do it. I'll end up on the phone calling my dad to come put the tree in the stand.
Another hurdle is going to be putting the lights on. Obviously my arms do not reach around the entire tree. And, once it's in place, the tree will be against a wall, and I won't be able to walk around the tree. Mike and I have a process when we put the lights on. One person walks around the tree with the lights, and the other person grabs the lights at the spot it's against the wall so we don't have to drop the lights on the floor and pick them up on the other side. You know what I mean?
Typically, as soon as the lights are on the tree Mike and Haley go pheasant hunting and leave me alone in the house with all the decorating totes. By the time they get back, I'm usually done. It's perfect!
I'll find out how stubborn and independent I really am tomorrow.