Getting properly decked out...

This weekend kicked off by kicking me squarely in the head about as hard as a mule who's been doing his plyometrics consistently. That means I had the mother of all headaches...or one of the mothers of all headaches because I seem to get this same b*tch with some regularity. I decided today, as it was finally lifting (after having me literally at its mercy for 50 hours), that I am good with that experience and really do not ever need to have it again. *Sigh* I wish it were that simple.

After spending all of Saturday in bed with the covers over my head because the ambient light in my dark bedroom was more than I could handle...and missing my daughter's favorite concert of the year at the Dickens Christmas Fair, by lunchtime today I was finally feeling 'normal' enough to stand upright without holding onto anything, take a shower and put on real clothes. And I was itching to get outside.

Conveniently, the kids were climbing the walls. It is so awesome when their "needs"...even if they don't realize it  ;-)... and my itch dovetail so nicely!

Time for a family bike ride!

Sounds fun, doesn't it?

Hahahhahaahaha!

Well, it was...after the major attitude adjustment session that occurred less than a quarter of a mile into the experience. What could anyone possibly complain about? Seriously? It is almost mid-December and it is warm enough to ride a bike along the SF Bay in short-sleeves and shorts! There was almost no wind. It's flat. We were only going slowly for 30 minutes. Seriously...what is there to complain about?

I still haven't figured out what exactly the major hissy fit was about. But it was major. The fact that I didn't blow a gasket over the pettiness is a sure sign that my headache was gone. So I was focusing on being thankful for that :)

Post-attitude adjustment...

almost having fun at this point :)

Fortunately, we were properly decked out for the activity...

Crocs with Buzz Lightyear jibbit.

Cut-off jeans shorts...

comfy...or not so much :P

We made it to the turn-around and back home without incident...miraculously. And once home, we proceeded to engage in some truly seasonal decking... this somehow involved NO fighting and NO broken ornaments...a familial first, if I'm not mistaken.

Overhead view of our Christmas tree...

Miss C is in pink at the 12 o'clock position.

Things are kind of thick on the bottom...but that's understandable when the decorators are all under 4 and a half feet tall and the tree is over 10! 

We hope to get the star on top working 

but have yet to find the end of that last string of lights

into which we must plug it!

Next up...slathering the outside of the house with as many strings of lights as we can scrape together!

How's your weather lately?

–We had some heavy rain (remember CIM?), but lately it's been glorious.

Do you like Christmas decorations? On your own house? Or on the homes of others?

–I like decorating but don't do it so heavily that our energy bill skyrockets. I like seeing other outrageous light displays...but am glad none of them are across the street from us!