O Christmas Tree

I got a Christmas tree last night. I love real trees. I love the smell of them. I love unpacking all my ornaments. My mom and my grandmother have give me an ornament every year since I was a baby. It is fun going back through and looking at the ornaments. In my typical fashion, I don't fully think through a situation, I just wanted a tree, went and got one. Upon arrival at home, my roommate and I realized that we had gotten a massive tree that had a huge tree truck and the branches on the bottom needed cut off. No worries though, all those problems could be solved. We have a vaulted ceiling, so it still fits in our apartment. We were able to cut off the branches with my camping knife, but we did have to go and buy a new tree stand because there was no way that my old one could hold this massive tree. It is beautiful, a little crooked, but still great.
I also realized another reason why living in community is so great. Last year, I got my Christmas tree by myself and attempted to carry it up three flights of stairs by myself. It is way less heavy when two people carry a tree. It is also is practically impossible to put a tree in a stand by ones self. Having another pair of hands is most helpful. And it is just way more fun to decorate with other people.

Some of my favorite ornaments. Notice the cat bride. From my younger days!

Has nothing to do with Christmas, but I made this photo collage and used fabric from Sierra Leone. I was pretty excited with how well it turned out.

The view from our loft. We have a loft in our apartment. Its great.

Putting the lights on the tree

Melissa was hard core and cut the branches off herself.

Melissa and me with our tree, cutting off the branches.

My Sierra Leone manger and my tree decorating buddies

Getting our tree ready